Tibet lies at the center of Asia, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers. The earth’s highest mountains, a vast arid plateau and great river valleys make up the physical homeland of 6 million Tibetans. It has an average altitude of 14,000 feet above sea level.
Tibet is comprised of the three provinces of Amdo (now split by China into the provinces of Qinghai and part of Gansu), Kham (largely incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Gansu and Yunnan), and U-Tsang (which, together with western Kham, is today referred to by China as the Tibet Autonomous Region).
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) comprises less than half of historic Tibet and was created by China in 1965 for administrative reasons. It is important to note that when Chinese officials and publications use the term “Tibet” they mean only the TAR.
Tibetans use the term Tibet to mean the three provinces described above, i.e., the area traditionally known as Tibet before the 1949-50 invasion.
Despite 60 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated by China. The present Chinese policy, a combination of demographic and economic manipulation, and discrimination, aims to suppress the Tibetan issue by changing the very character and the identity of Tibet and its people.
Today Tibetans are outnumbered by Han Chinese population in their own homeland.
This map shows what a large part of China’s current borders comprises of Tibetan land. Additionally, the area to the West of Tibet is occupied East Turkestan and the area to the North-East of Tibet is occupied Inner Mongolia. This demonstrates the extent of China’s occupation of these lands.
- SIZE: 2.5 Million sq. km.
- CAPITAL: Lhasa
- POPULATION: 6 million Tibetans and an estimated 7.5 million Chinese, most of whom are in Kham and Amdo
- LANGUAGE: Tibetan (of the Tibeto-Burmese language family). The official language is Chinese.
- STAPLE FOOD: Tsampa (roasted barley flour)
- NATIONAL DRINK: Salted butter tea
- TYPICAL ANIMALS: Wild yak, Bharal (blue) sheep, Musk deer, Tibetan antelope, Tibetan gazelle, Kyang (wild ass), Pica
- TYPICAL BIRDS: Black necked crane, Lammergeier, Great crested grebe, Bar-headed goose, Ruddy shel duck, Ibis-bill
- MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS: Rampant deforestation in Eastern Tibet, poaching of large mammals, large damming projects, destructive mining techniques, forced resettlement of nomads; putting environmentally sustainable lifestyles at risk.
- AVERAGE ALTITUDE: 14,000 ft.
- HIGHEST MOUNTAIN: Chomo Langma (Mt. Everest) 29, 028 ft
- AVERAGE RAINFALL: Varies widely. In the west it is 1 mm in Jan. to 25 mm in July. In the east, it is 25-50 in Jan. and 800 in July
- AVERAGE TEMPERATURE: July 58 f; Jan. 24 f.
- MINERAL DEPOSITS: Borax, uranium, iron, chromite, gold
- MAJOR RIVERS: Mekong, Yangtse, Salween, Tsangpo, Yellow. Many of Asia’s main rivers begin in Tibet.
- ECONOMY: Tibetans: predominantly in agriculture and animal husbandry. Chinese: predominantly in government, commerce and the service sector.
- PROVINCES: U-Tsang (Central Tibet), Amdo (N.E. Tibet), Kham (S.E. Tibet)
- BORDERING COUNTRIES: India, Nepal, Butan, Burma, China, other Chinese-occupied countries (East Turkestan and Inner Mongolia)
- NATIONAL FLAG: Snowlions with red and blue rays. Outlawed in Tibet
- POLITICAL LEADER: Lobsang Sangay, democratically elected head of the Tibetan government in exile, in Dharmsala, India. Tibetans are prevented from organising political groups inside Tibet.
- RELIGIOUS LEADER: His Holiness The 14th Dalai Lama. In exile in Dharmsala, India.
- GOVERNMENT IN EXILE: Parlimentary
- GOVERNMENT: Communist
- RELATIONSHIP WITH THE P.R.C .: Colonial
- LEGAL STATUS: occupied
