Tibet Autonomous Region#Government

{{History of Tibet}}

{{Main|History of Tibet}}

Yarlung kings founded the Tibetan Empire in 618. By the end of the 8th century, the empire reached its greatest extent. After a civil war, the empire broke up in 842. The royal lineage fragmented and ruled over small kingdoms such as Guge and Maryul. The Mongols conquered Tibet in 1244 and later ruled it under the Yuan Dynasty but granted the region a degree of political autonomy. The Sakya lama Drogön Chögyal Phagpa became a religious teacher to Kublai Khan in the 1250s and was made the head of the Tibetan region administration {{circa | 1264}}.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

From 1354 to 1642, Central Tibet (Ü-Tsang) was ruled by a succession of dynasties from Nêdong, Shigatse and Lhasa. In 1642, the Ganden Phodrang court of the 5th Dalai Lama was established by Güshi Khan of the Khoshut Khanate, who was enthroned as King of Tibet. The Khoshuts ruled until 1717, when they were overthrown by the Dzungar Khanate. Despite politically charged historical debate concerning the nature of Sino-Tibetan relations,{{citation |surname= Wylie |given= Turrell V. |chapter= Lama Tribute in the Ming Dynasty | title = The History of Tibet: Volume 2, The Medieval Period: c. AD 850–1895, the Development of Buddhist Paramountcy |editor-given= Alex |editor-surname= McKay |location= New York |publisher= Routledge |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-0-415-30843-4 |postscript=. |page= 470}}{{citation |surname1= Wang |given1= Jiawei |surname2= Nyima |given2= Gyaincain |title= The Historical Status of China's Tibet |location= Beijing |publisher= China Intercontinental Press |year= 1997 |isbn= 978-7-80113-304-5 |postscript= . |pages= 1–40}}{{harvp|Laird|2006|pp= 106–107}} some historians{{who|date=February 2021}} posit that Tibet under the Ganden Phodrang (1642–1951) was an independent state, albeit under various foreign suzerainties for much of this period, including by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The Dzungar forces were in turn expelled by the 1720 expedition to Tibet during the Dzungar–Qing Wars. This began a period of direct Qing rule over Tibet.

{{cite book

|author1 = Huaiyin Li

|date = 13 August 2019

|title = The Making of the Modern Chinese State: 1600–1950

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=p-yoDwAAQBAJ

|publication-place = Abingdon

|publisher = Routledge

|isbn = 9780429777899

|access-date = 20 November 2022

|quote = [...] in 1720 through two military expeditions, the Qing put Tibet under its direct control by stationing a permanent garrison in Lhasa and appointing an Imperial Commissioner in Tibet to supervise the newly organized government [...]

}}

From the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912 until 1950, the State of Tibet was de facto independent, as were other regions claimed by the successor Republic of China. The Republican regime, preoccupied with warlordism (1916–1928), civil war (1927–1949) and Japanese invasion (1937–1945), did not exert authority in Tibet. Other regions of ethno-cultural Tibet in eastern Kham and Amdo had been under de jure administration of the Chinese dynastic government since the mid-18th century;Grunfeld, A. Tom, The Making of Modern Tibet, M.E. Sharpe, p. 245. they form parts of the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

In 1950, following the proclamation of the People's Republic of China the year before, the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet and defeated the Tibetan army in a battle fought near the city of Chamdo. In 1951, Tibetan representatives signed the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet with the Central People's Government affirming China's sovereignty over Tibet and the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China. The 14th Dalai Lama ratified the agreement in October 1951.Gyatso, Tenzin, Dalai Lama XIV, interview, 25 July 1981.Goldstein, Melvyn C., A History of Modern Tibet, 1913–1951, University of California Press, 1989, p. 812–813.A. Tom Grunfeld (30 July 1996). The Making of Modern Tibet. M.E. Sharpe. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-7656-3455-9. After the failure of a violent uprising in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India and renounced the Seventeen Point Agreement. During the 1950s and 1960s, Western-dispatched insurgents were parachuted into Tibet, almost all of whom were captured and killed.{{Rp|page=238}} The establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965 made Tibet a provincial-level division of China.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

{{Main|Geography of Tibet}}{{See also|Southwestern China}}

The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on Earth. In northern Tibet elevations reach an average of over {{convert|4572|m|ft}}. Mount Everest is located on Tibet's border with Nepal.

China's provincial-level areas of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Sichuan lie to the north, northeast and east, respectively, of the Tibet AR. There is also a short border with Yunnan Province to the southeast. The countries to the south and southwest are Myanmar, India, Bhutan, and Nepal. China claims Arunachal Pradesh administered by India as part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It also claims some areas adjoining the Chumbi Valley that are recognised as Bhutan's territory, and some areas of eastern Ladakh claimed by India. India and China agreed to respect the Line of Actual Control in a bilateral agreement signed on 7 September 1993.{{Cite web |title=Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas {{!}} UN Peacemaker |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/chinaindia-borderagreement93 |access-date=2022-12-01 |publisher=United Nations |language=en}}{{Primary source inline|date=December 2022}}

File:Everest North Face toward Base Camp Tibet Luca Galuzzi 2006 edit 1.jpg]]

Physically, the Tibet AR may be divided into two parts: the lakes region in the west and north-west and the river region, which spreads out on three sides of the former on the east, south and west. Both regions receive limited amounts of rainfall as they lie in the rain shadow of the Himalayas; however, the region names are useful in contrasting their hydrological structures, and also in contrasting their different cultural uses: nomadic in the lake region and agricultural in the river region.{{cite web |url = http://www.tew.org/geography/t2000.agricultural.html |title = Tibet: Agricultural Regions |access-date = 6 August 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070824153940/http://www.tew.org/geography/t2000.agricultural.html |archive-date = 24 August 2007 }} On the south the Tibet AR is bounded by the Himalayas, and on the north by a broad mountain system. The system at no point narrows to a single range; generally there are three or four across its breadth. As a whole the system forms the watershed between rivers flowing to the Indian Ocean — the Indus, Brahmaputra and Salween and its tributaries — and the streams flowing into the undrained salt lakes to the north.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The lake region extends from the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, Lake Rakshastal, Yamdrok Lake and Lake Manasarovar near the source of the Indus River, to the sources of the Salween, the Mekong and the Yangtze. Other lakes include Dagze Co, Namtso, and Pagsum Co. The lake region is a wind-swept Alpine grassland. This region is called the Chang Tang (Byang sang) or 'Northern Plateau' by the people of Tibet. It is {{convert|1100|km|-1|abbr=on}} broad and covers an area about equal to that of France. Due to its great distance from the ocean it is extremely arid and possesses no river outlet. The mountain ranges are spread out, rounded, disconnected, and separated by relatively flat valleys.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The Tibet AR is dotted over with large and small lakes, generally salt or alkaline, and intersected by streams. Due to the presence of discontinuous permafrost over the Chang Tang, the soil is boggy and covered with tussocks of grass, thus resembling the Siberian tundra. Salt and fresh-water lakes are intermingled. The lakes are generally without outlet, or have only a small effluent. The deposits consist of soda, potash, borax and common salt. The lake region is noted for a vast number of hot springs, which are widely distributed between the Himalaya and 34° N, but are most numerous to the west of Tengri Nor (north-west of Lhasa). So intense is the cold in this part of Tibet that these springs are sometimes represented by columns of ice, the nearly boiling water having frozen in the act of ejection.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The river region is characterized by fertile mountain valleys and includes the Yarlung Tsangpo River (the upper courses of the Brahmaputra) and its major tributary, the Nyang River, the Salween, the Yangtze, the Mekong, and the Yellow River. The Yarlung Tsangpo Canyon, formed by a horseshoe bend in the river where it flows around Namcha Barwa, is the deepest and possibly longest canyon in the world.{{cite web |url = http://www.china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/185555.htm |title = The World's Biggest Canyon |publisher = china.org |access-date = 29 June 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012120238/http://china.org.cn/english/MATERIAL/185555.htm |archive-date = 12 October 2007 |url-status = live }} Among the mountains there are many narrow valleys. The valleys of Lhasa, Xigazê, Gyantse and the Brahmaputra are free from permafrost, covered with good soil and groves of trees, well irrigated, and richly cultivated.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

The South Tibet Valley is formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River during its middle reaches, where it travels from west to east. The valley is approximately {{convert|1200|km|-1|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|300|km|-1|abbr=on}} wide. The valley descends from {{convert|4500|m|-1|abbr=on}} above sea level to {{convert|2800|m|-1|abbr=on}}. The mountains on either side of the valley are usually around {{convert|5000|m|-1|abbr=on}} high.{{cite book |title = Tibetan Geography |pages = 30–31 |publisher = China Intercontinental Press |isbn = 978-7-5085-0665-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=4q_XoMACOxkC&q=%22South+Tibet+Valley%22&pg=PA30 |last1 = Yang |first1 = Qinye |last2 = Zheng |first2=Du |year=2004}}Zheng Du, Zhang Qingsong, Wu Shaohong: Mountain Geoecology and Sustainable Development of the Tibetan Plateau (Kluwer 2000), {{ISBN|0-7923-6688-3}}, p. 312; Lakes here include Lake Paiku and Lake Puma Yumco.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

{{See also|People's Government of Tibet Autonomous Region|List of modern political leaders of Tibet|List of current Chinese provincial leaders}}

The Tibet Autonomous Region is a province-level entity of the People's Republic of China. Chinese law nominally guarantees some autonomy in the areas of education and language policy. Like other subdivisions of China, routine administration is carried out by a People's Government, headed by a chairman, who has been an ethnic Tibetan except for an interregnum during the Cultural Revolution. As with other Chinese provinces, the chairman carries out work under the direction of the regional secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The standing committee of the regional Communist Party Committee serves as the top rung of political power in the region. The current chairman is Garma Cedain and the current party secretary is Wang Junzheng.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

{{Main list|List of administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region|List of township-level divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region}}

The Autonomous Region is divided into seven prefecture-level divisions: six prefecture-level cities and one prefecture.

These in turn are subdivided into a total of 66 counties and 8 districts (Chengguan, Doilungdêqên, Dagzê, Samzhubzê, Karub, Bayi, Nêdong, and Seni).

File:IMG 1565 Yamdrok Tso.jpg]]

File:NamTso scene.jpg]]

{{Notelist}}

{{Further|Chinese settlements in Tibet}}{{Historical populations

|title = Historical population

|footnote = Xikang Province / Chuanbian SAR was established in 1923 from parts of Tibet / Lifan Yuan; dissolved in 1955 and parts were incorporated into Tibet AR.

|1912{{cite web|script-title=ja:1912年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo2.html|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032922/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo2.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} |1,160,000

|1928{{cite web|script-title=ja:1928年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo3.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032924/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo3.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} |372,000

|1936–37{{cite web|script-title=ja:1936–37年中国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo4.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924032925/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo4.htm|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} |372,000

|1947{{cite web|script-title=ja:1947年全国人口|url=http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo5.htm|access-date=6 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913053600/http://www.ier.hit-u.ac.jp/COE/Japanese/discussionpapers/DP97.9/fhyo5.htm|archive-date=13 September 2013|url-status=live}} |1,000,000

|1954{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16767.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于第一次全国人口调查登记结果的公报|publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805174810/http://www.stats.gov.cn/TJGB/RKPCGB/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16767.htm|archive-date=5 August 2009}} |1,273,969

|1964{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16768.htm |script-title=zh:第二次全国人口普查结果的几项主要统计数字|publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914173158/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16768.htm|archive-date=14 September 2012}} |1,251,225

|1982{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16769.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九八二年人口普查主要数字的公报|publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510075429/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16769.htm|archive-date=10 May 2012}} |1,892,393

|1990{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16772.htm |script-title=zh:中华人民共和国国家统计局关于一九九〇年人口普查主要数据的公报|publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619002216/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020404_16772.htm|archive-date=19 June 2012}} |2,196,010

|2000{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020331_15435.htm |script-title=zh:现将2000年第五次全国人口普查快速汇总的人口地区分布数据公布如下|publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829052024/http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/t20020331_15435.htm|archive-date=29 August 2012}} |2,616,329

|2010{{cite web|url=http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm|title=Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census|publisher=National Bureau of Statistics of China|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727021210/http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm|archive-date=27 July 2013}} |3,002,166

|2020{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/china-society-census-takeaways-idUSL4N2MY2I6|title = FACTBOX-Key takeaways from China's 2020 population census|work = Reuters|date = 11 May 2021}} |3,648,100

}}

With an average of about two people per square kilometer, Tibet has the lowest population density among any of the Chinese province-level administrative regions, mostly due to its harsh and rugged terrain.{{cn|date=January 2025}} In 2023, only 38.9 percent of Tibet's population was urban, with 61.1 being rural, amongst the lowest in China, though this is significantly up from 22.6 percent in 2011.

In 2020 the Tibetan population was three million.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-02 |title=How Much Does Beijing Control the Ethnic Makeup of Tibet? |url=https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/viewpoint/how-much-does-beijing-control-ethnic-makeup-of-tibet |access-date=2023-05-08 |website=ChinaFile |language=en}} The ethnic Tibetans, comprising 86.0% of the population, mainly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, although there is an ethnic Tibetan Muslim community.Hannue, Dialogues Tibetan Dialogues Han Other Muslim ethnic groups such as the Hui and the Salar have inhabited the region. There is also a tiny Tibetan Christian community in eastern Tibet. Smaller tribal groups such as the Monpa and Lhoba, who follow a combination of Tibetan Buddhism and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic Tibetans. According to tradition the original ancestors of the Tibetan people, as represented by the six red bands in the Tibetan flag, are: the Se, Mu, Dong, Tong, Dru and Ra. Other traditional ethnic groups with significant population or with the majority of the ethnic group reside in Tibet include Bai people, Blang, Bonan, Dongxiang, Han, Hui people, Lhoba, Lisu people, Miao, Mongols, Monguor (Tu people), Menba (Monpa), Mosuo, Nakhi, Qiang, Nu people, Pumi, Salar, and Yi people.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition published between 1910 and 1911, the total population of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity, was about 30,000, and the permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000).{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Lhasa |volume=16 |page=531 |first1=Henry |last1=Yule |authorlink1=Henry Yule |first2=Laurence |last2=Waddell |authorlink2=Laurence Waddell }}

Most Han people in the Tibet Autonomous Region (12.2% of the total population) are recent migrants, because all of the Han were expelled from "Outer Tibet" (Central Tibet) following the British invasion until the establishment of the PRC.{{Cite book |last = Grunfeld |first = A. Tom |title = The Making of Modern Tibet |pages = 114–119 |year = 1996 |publisher = East Gate Books}} As of 2010, only 8% of Han people have household registration in TAR, others keep their household registration in place of origin.{{cite web |script-title=zh:西藏自治区常住人口超过300万 |url=http://www.xizang.gov.cn/rkmz/51886.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216101632/http://www.xizang.gov.cn/rkmz/51886.jhtml |archive-date=16 February 2013 |access-date=6 May 2011 |website=Xizang gov }}{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}}

Tibetan scholars and exiles claim that, with the 2006 completion of the Qingzang Railway connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region to Qinghai Province, there has been an "acceleration" of Han migration into the region.{{cite web |last = Johnson |first = Tim |url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31913.html |title = Tibetans see 'Han invasion' as spurring violence | McClatchy |publisher = Mcclatchydc.com |date = 28 March 2008 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091115110855/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/31913.html |archive-date = 15 November 2009 }} The Tibetan government-in-exile based in northern India asserts that the PRC is promoting the migration of Han workers and soldiers to Tibet to marginalize and assimilate the locals.{{cite web |url = http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=236&articletype=articale |publisher = Central Tibetan Administration |title = Population Transfer Programmes |year = 2003 |access-date = 29 July 2010 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20100730030042/http://www.tibet.net/en/print.php?id=236&articletype=articale |archive-date = 30 July 2010 |url-status = dead }}

{{Main|Religion in Tibet}}

{{Bar box

|float = right

|title = Religion in Tibet (2012 estimates)[https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf Internazional Religious Freedom Report 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328164846/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/208434.pdf |date=28 March 2017 }} by the US government. p. 20: «Most ethnic Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, although a sizeable minority practices Bon, an indigenous religion, and very small minorities practice Islam, Catholicism, or Protestantism. Some scholars estimate that there are as many as 400,000 Bon followers across the Tibetan Plateau. Scholars also estimate that there are up to 5,000 ethnic Tibetan Muslims and 700 ethnic Tibetan Catholics in the TAR.»

|bars =

{{Bar percent|Tibetan Buddhism|Yellow|78.5}}

{{Bar percent|Bon|SlateBlue|12.5}}

{{Bar percent|Chinese folk religion|FireBrick|8.58}}

{{Bar percent|IslamMin Junqing. The Present Situation and Characteristics of Contemporary Islam in China. JISMOR, 8. [https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf 2010 Islam by province, page 29] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427140204/https://doors.doshisha.ac.jp/duar/repository/ir/18185/r002000080004.pdf |date=27 April 2017 }}. Data from: Yang Zongde, Study on Current Muslim Population in China, Jinan Muslim, 2, 2010.|Green|0.4}}

{{Bar percent|Christianity|DodgerBlue|0.02}}

}}

File:Tibet-6048 - Largest Sitting Maitreya Buddha.jpg Buddha statue of Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse]]

The main religion in Tibet has been Buddhism since its introduction in the 8th century AD. Before the arrival of Buddhism, the main religion among Tibetans was an indigenous shamanic and animistic religion, Bon, which now comprises a sizeable minority and influenced the formation of Tibetan Buddhism.

According to estimates from the International Religious Freedom Report of 2012, most Tibetans (who comprise 91% of the population of the Tibet Autonomous Region) are adherents of Tibetan Buddhism, while a minority of 400,000 people are followers the native Bon or folk religions which share the image of Confucius (Tibetan: Kongtse Trulgyi Gyalpo) with Chinese folk religion, though in a different light.{{cite web |author1=Te-Ming TSENG |author2=Shen-Yu LIN |url=http://www.eastasia.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/data/4-2/4-2-7/4-2-7.pdf |trans-title=The Image of Confucius in Tibetan Culture |script-title=zh:《臺灣東亞文明研究學刊》第4卷第2期(總第8期) |date=December 2007 |pages=169–207 |website=National Taiwan University |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304104518/http://www.eastasia.ntu.edu.tw/chinese/data/4-2/4-2-7/4-2-7.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}Shenyu Lin. [http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf The Tibetan Image of Confucius] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913230941/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ret/pdf/ret_12_07.pdf |date=13 September 2017 }}. Revue d'Etudes Tibétaines. According to some reports, the government of China has been promoting the Bon religion, linking it with Confucianism.China-Tibet Online: [http://eng.tibet.cn/2010zj/xw/201411/t20141105_2088487.html Confucius ruled as a "divine king" in Tibet]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 4 November 2014

Most of the Han Chinese who reside in Tibet practice their native Chinese folk religion ({{zh|labels=no |c=神道 |p=shén dào |l=Way of the Gods}}). There is a Guandi Temple of Lhasa ({{lang|zh-hans|拉萨关帝庙}}) where the Chinese god of war Guandi is identified with the cross-ethnic Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol and Manchu deity Gesar. The temple is built according to both Chinese and Tibetan architecture. It was first erected in 1792 under the Qing dynasty and renovated around 2013 after decades of disrepair.World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2145 Lhasa, Tibet: Guandi temple was inaugurated] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304090522/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2145 |date=4 March 2016 }}.China-Tibet Online: [http://eng.tibet.cn/2010wh/xw/201303/t20130313_1869432.html Tibet's largest Guandi Temple gets repaired]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. 13 March 2013

Built or rebuilt between 2014 and 2015 is the Guandi Temple of Qomolangma (Mount Everest), on Ganggar Mount, in Tingri County.World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2454 Dingri, Tibet: Cornerstone Laying Ceremony being Grandly Held for the Reconstruction of Qomolangma Guandi Temple] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107214706/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2454 |date=7 November 2017 }}.World Guangong Culture: [http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2456 Wuhan, China: Yang Song Meets Cui Yujing to Discuss Qomolangma Guandi Temple] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094252/http://www.guangong.hk/English/wenhua/std.asp?ID=2456 |date=4 March 2016 }}.

There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 Muslim adherents, although a 2010 Chinese survey found a higher proportion of 0.4%. There is a Catholic church with 700 parishioners, which is located in the traditionally Catholic community of Yanjing in the east of the region.

The American advocacy group Freedom House ranked the Tibet Autonomous Region as "not free" in their 2025 annual world report, giving the region a rating of -2 out of 40 for political rights and 2 out of 60 for civil liberties. This gives the region a total score of 0 out of 100, positioning it as one of the least free places on earth.{{Cite web |title=Tibet: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report |url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/tibet/freedom-world/2025 |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Freedom House |language=en}}

{{Main|Human rights in Tibet}}

File:Chinese army moving from Golmud to Lhasa.jpg

From the 1951 Seventeen Point Agreement to 2003, life expectancy in Tibet increased from thirty-six years to sixty-seven years with infant mortality and absolute poverty declining steadily.{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Chun |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/63178961 |title=The transformation of Chinese socialism |date=2006 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-3785-0 |location=Durham [N.C.] |pages=103 |oclc=63178961}}

Before the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1951, Tibet was ruled by a theocracySamten G. Karmay, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160305233421/http://www.tibetwrites.org/?religion-and-politics-commentary Religion and Politics: commentary]}}, September 2008: "from 1642 the Ganden Potrang, the official seat of the government in Drepung Monastery, came to symbolize the supreme power in both the theory and practice of a theocratic government. This was indeed a political triumph that Buddhism had never known in its history in Tibet." and had a caste-like social hierarchy.{{cite book|last=Fjeld|first= Heidi|title=Commoners and Nobles:Hereditary Divisions in Tibet |publisher= Nordic Institute of Asian Studies|year=2003|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g0V5lV_M-SYC|isbn= 9788791114175}} Human rights in Tibet prior to its incorporation into the People's Republic of China differed considerably from those in the modern era. Due to tight control of press in mainland China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region,Regions and territories: Tibet bbc http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4152353.stm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422064415/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/4152353.stm|date=2011-04-22}} it is difficult to accurately determine the scope of human rights abuses.US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090226175344/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119037.htm#tibet 2008 Human Rights Report: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)], February 25, 2009

When General Secretary Hu Yaobang visited Tibet in 1980 and 1982, he disagreed with what he viewed as heavy-handedness.{{Cite book |last=Lampton |first=David M. |title=Living U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-8725-8 |location=Lanham, MD |pages= |author-link=David M. Lampton}}{{Rp|page=240}} Hu reduced the number of Han party cadre, and relaxed social controls.{{Rp|page=240}}

Critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) say the CCP's official aim to eliminate "the three evils of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism" is used as a pretext for human rights abuses.Simon Denyer, [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/08/china-party-dissent-xinjiang-tibet China cracks down on aggrieved party cadres in Xinjiang and Tibet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229201516/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/08/china-party-dissent-xinjiang-tibet |date=2016-12-29 }}, The Guardian, 8 December 2015. A 1992 Amnesty International report stated that judicial standards in the Tibet Autonomous Region were not up to "international standards". The report charged the CCPAmnesty International, [http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/un/un8annex2.1.html Amnesty International: "China – Amnesty International's concerns in Tibet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912004834/http://www.tibetjustice.org/materials/un/un8annex2.1.html |date=2009-09-12 }}, Secretary-General's Report: Situation in Tibet, E/CN.4/1992/37 government with keeping political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; ill-treatment of detainees, including torture, and inaction in the face of ill-treatment; the use of the death penalty; extrajudicial executions;{{cite web |url=http://www.hrweb.org/ai/aidoc.html |title=Amnesty International Documents |publisher=Hrweb.org |access-date=2012-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315090003/http://www.hrweb.org/ai/aidoc.html |archive-date=15 March 2012 |url-status=dead }} and forced abortion and sterilization.{{Cite journal|title=China's Birth Control Policy in the Tibet Autonomous Region|journal=Asian Survey|author-link=Melvyn Goldstein|first1=Melvyn|last1=Goldstein|first2=Beall|last2=Cynthia|date=March 1991|volume=31|issue=3|pages=285–303|jstor=2645246|doi=10.2307/2645246}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2000/06/13/human-rights-violations-tibet|title=Human Rights Violations in Tibet|date=13 June 2000|publisher=Human Rights Watch}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.12/China_CFT2_NGO_Report.pdf|title=Database of NGO Reports presented to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.|publisher=Archive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119081639/http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.12/China_CFT2_NGO_Report.pdf|archive-date=19 January 2012}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/11/424662-china-must-urgently-address-rights-violations-tibet-un-senior-official|title=China must urgently address rights violations in Tibet – UN senior official|date=2 November 2012|publisher=UN News}}{{Cite web|url=https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f7f1f1e0-e8ae-4670-9d03-ba50b01d12fe/|title=European Parliament resolution of 10 April 2008 on Tibet|date=10 April 2008|publisher=Publications Office of the EU}}

{{Further|List of populated places in the Tibet Autonomous Region}}

Beginning in 2006, 280,000 Tibetans who lived in traditional villages and as nomadic herdsmen have been forcefully relocated into villages and towns. In those areas, new housing was built and existing houses were remodelled to serve a total of 2 million people. Those living in substandard housing were required to dismantle their houses and remodel them to government standards. Much of the expense was borne by the residents themselves,{{Cite web|date=2013-06-27|title=They Say We Should Be Grateful|url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/06/27/they-say-we-should-be-grateful/mass-rehousing-and-relocation-programs-tibetan|access-date=2020-08-14|publisher=Human Rights Watch|language=en}} often through bank loans. The population transfer program, which was first implemented in Qinghai where 300,000 nomads were resettled, is called "Comfortable Housing", which is part of the "Build a New Socialist Countryside" program. Its effect on Tibetan culture has been criticized by exiles and human rights groups. Finding employment is difficult for relocated persons who have only agrarian skills. Income shortfalls are offset by government support programs.{{cite news |title = Rights Report Faults Mass Relocation of Tibetans |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/world/asia/rights-report-faults-mass-relocation-of-tibetans.html |access-date = 28 June 2013 |newspaper = The New York Times |date = 27 June 2013 |author-link = Andrew Jacobs (journalist) |first = Andrew |last = Jacobs |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130627170328/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/world/asia/rights-report-faults-mass-relocation-of-tibetans.html |archive-date = 27 June 2013 |url-status = live }} It was announced that in 2011 that 20,000 CCP cadres will be placed in the new towns.

{{Main|Economy of Tibet}}

In general, China's minority regions have some of the highest per capita government spending public goods and services.{{Rp|page=366}} Providing public goods and services in these areas is part of a government effort to reduce regional inequalities, reduce the risk of separatism, and stimulate economic development.{{Rp|page=366}} Tibet has the highest amount of funding from the central government to the local government as of at least 2019.{{Rp|pages=370–371}}As of at least 2019, Tibet has the highest total per capita government expenditure of any region in China, including the highest per capita government expenditure on health care, the highest per capita government expenditure on education, and the second highest per capita government expenditure on social security and employment.{{Rp|pages=367–369}}

The Tibetans traditionally depended upon agriculture for survival. Since the 1980s, however, other jobs such as taxi-driving and hotel retail work have become available in the wake of Chinese economic reform. By 2023, its gross domestic product (GDP) stood at nearly 239.3 billion yuan (about 33.6 billion U.S. dollars), adding that the growth rates of the region's major economic indicators, including per capita disposable income, fixed asset investment, and total retail sales of consumer goods, all ranked first in China. The added value of the service sector accounted for 54.1 percent and contributed a 57.6 percent share to economic growth. Investment in fixed assets also grew rapidly last year, with investment in infrastructure up by 34.8 percent and investment in areas related to people's livelihoods up by 31.8 percent.{{Cite web |url=https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/statistics/202401/23/content_WS65afbd1ac6d0868f4e8e36bf |title=Xizang's GDP up 9.5 percent in 2023 |date=January 23, 2024}}{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}} The region's GDP grew by an annual average of 9.5 percent from 2012 to 2023, about 3 percentage points higher than the China's national average.{{Cite web|title=Tibet's annual GDP growth reaches 9.5% over 10 years. |url=http://english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2022-10/08/content_78454461.htm |date=October 8, 2022}}{{Non-primary source needed|date=January 2025}}

By 2022, the GDP of the region surpassed 213 billion yuan (US$31.7 billion in nominal), while GDP per capita reached {{CNY|58,438}} ({{US$|8,688}} in nominal). In 2022, Tibet's GDP per capita ranked 25th highest in China, as well as higher than any South Asian country except Maldives.{{cite web| author = International Monetary Fund| url = https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April| title = World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023| publisher = International Monetary Fund}} In 2008, Chinese news media reported that the per capita disposable incomes of urban and rural residents in Tibet averaged ({{CNY|12,482}} ({{US$|1,798}}) and {{CNY|3,176}} ({{US$|457}}) respectively.{{cite web |url = http://news.nen.com.cn/guoneiguoji/280/3349280.shtml |title = Tibetans report income rises |publisher = news.nen.com.cn |access-date = 11 October 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721172024/http://news.nen.com.cn/guoneiguoji/280/3349280.shtml |archive-date = 21 July 2011 |url-status = dead }}

While traditional agriculture and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 the tertiary sector contributed more than half of its GDP growth, the first time it surpassed the area's primary industry.{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121797.htm |title = Xinhua – Per capita GDP tops $1,000 in Tibet |agency = Xinhua News Agency |date = 31 January 2006 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609200828/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121797.htm |archive-date = 9 June 2011 }}{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121796.htm |title = Tibet posts fixed assets investment rise |agency = Xinhua News Agency |date = 31 January 2006 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110609200853/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-01/31/content_4121796.htm |archive-date = 9 June 2011 }}{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=January 2025}}

The collection of caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis, known in Tibetan as Yartsa Gunbu) in late spring / early summer is in many areas the most important source of cash for rural households. It contributes an average of 40% to rural cash income and 8.5% to the Tibet Autonomous Region's GDP.Winkler D. 2008 Yartsa gunbu (Cordyceps sinenis) and the fungal commodification of rural Tibet. Economic Botany 62.3. See also Hannue, Dialogues Tibetan Dialogues Han

The re-opening of the Nathu La pass (on southern Tibet's border with India) should facilitate Sino-Indian border trade and boost Tibet's economy.{{cite news |author = Maseeh Rahman in New Delhi |url = https://www.theguardian.com/china/story/0,,1801322,00.html |title = China and India to trade across Himalayas |newspaper = The Guardian |date = 19 June 2006 |access-date = 11 October 2011 |location = London}}

The China Western Development policy was adopted in 2000 by the central government to boost economic development in western China, including the Tibet Autonomous Region.{{Rp|page=133}} Because the central government permits Tibet to have a preferentially low corporate income tax rate, many corporations have registered in Tibet.{{Rp|page=146}}

There are 4 universities and 3 special colleges in Tibet,{{Cite web |title=全国高等学校名单 – 中华人民共和国教育部政府门户网站 |url=http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xxgk/s5743/s5744/A03/202206/t20220617_638352.html |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=moe.gov.cn}} including Tibet University, Tibet University for Nationalities, Tibet Tibetan Medical University, Tibet Agricultural and Animal Husbandry College, Lhasa Teachers College, Tibet Police College and Tibet Vocational and Technical College.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

As of at least 2019, Tibet is the region of China with the largest per capita government spending on education.{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Shuanglin |title=China's Public Finance: Reforms, Challenges, and Options |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-009-09902-8 |edition= |location=New York, NY |doi=10.1017/9781009099028}}{{Rp|pages=367-369}}

{{seealso|Visa policy of mainland China#Tibet Autonomous Region}}

Foreign tourists were first permitted to visit the Tibet Autonomous Region in the 1980s. While the main attraction is the Potala Palace in Lhasa, there are many other popular tourist destinations including the Jokhang Temple, Namtso Lake, and Tashilhunpo Monastery.Birgit Zotz, Destination Tibet. Hamburg: Kovac 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-8300-4948-7}} {{URL|http://d-nb.info/999787640/04}} {{Cite web |url = http://d-nb.info/999787640/04 |title=Archived copy |access-date=27 October 2011 |archive-date=17 January 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120117194517/http://d-nb.info/999787640/04 |url-status=bot: unknown }} Nonetheless, tourism in TAR is still restricted for non-Chinese passport holders (including citizens of the Republic of China from Taiwan), and foreigners must apply for a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP) to enter the region, as well as Alien's Travel Permit (ATP) if travelling elsewhere in TAR outside Lhasa and Nagqu{{cite web|url=https://www.travelchinaguide.com/faq/tibet-travel-permit/|title=FAQs on Tibet Travel Permit, Document}}

A 2019 white paper from The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China reported Tibet's road system has achieved a total of 118,800 km.{{Cite web |title=Full Text: Tibet Since 1951: Liberation, Development and Prosperity |url=https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/whitepaper/202105/21/content_WS60a724e7c6d0df57f98d9da2.html |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=english.www.gov.cn}}

The civil airports in Tibet are Lhasa Gonggar Airport,{{cite web|url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/12/content_11357826.htm|title = Gongkhar Airport in Tibet enters digital communication age|agency = Xinhua News Agency|date = 12 May 2009|access-date = 12 December 2010|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101215123315/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/12/content_11357826.htm|archive-date = 15 December 2010|df = dmy-all}} Qamdo Bangda Airport, Nyingchi Airport, and the Gunsa Airport.

Gunsa Airport in Ngari Prefecture began operations on 1 July 2010, to become the fourth civil airport in China's Tibet Autonomous Region.{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-07/01/c_13378773.htm |title = Tibet's fourth civil airport opens |agency = Xinhua News Agency |date = 1 July 2010 |access-date = 11 December 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101214214139/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-07/01/c_13378773.htm |archive-date = 14 December 2010 }}

The Peace Airport for Xigazê was opened for civilian use on 30 October 2010.{{cite web |url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/26/content_11773529.htm |title = Tibet to have fifth civil airport operational before year end 2010 |agency = Xinhua News Agency |date = 26 July 2010 |access-date = 12 December 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101215143139/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/26/content_11773529.htm |archive-date = 15 December 2010 }}

Announced in 2010, Nagqu Dagring Airport was expected to become the world's highest altitude airport, at 4,436 meters above sea level.{{cite web |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/12/content_12796690.htm |title=World's highest-altitude airport planned on Tibet |agency=Xinhua News Agency |date=12 January 2010 |access-date=12 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101215143150/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/12/content_12796690.htm |archive-date=15 December 2010 }} However, in 2015 it was reported that construction of the airport has been delayed due to the necessity to develop higher technological standards.{{cite web |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2015-04/24/content_20533131.htm |title=China to stop building extremely high plateau airports |work=China Daily |date=24 April 2015 |access-date=17 September 2021 }}

The Qinghai–Tibet Railway from Golmud to Lhasa was completed on 12 October 2005. It opened to regular trial service on 1 July 2006. Five pairs of passenger trains run between Golmud and Lhasa, with connections onward to Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xining and Lanzhou. The line includes the Tanggula Pass, which, at 5,072 m (16,640 ft) above sea level, is the world's highest railway.{{cn|date=January 2025}}

The Lhasa–Xigazê Railway branch from Lhasa to Xigazê was completed in 2014. It opened to regular service on 15 August 2014. The planned China–Nepal railway will connect Xigazê to Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, and is expected to be completed around 2027.{{cite news |last1=Giri |first1=A |last2=Giri |first2=S |title = Nepal, China agree on rail study |url = http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-08-24/nepal-china-agree-on-rail-study.html |access-date=22 September 2018 |newspaper = The Kathmandu Post |date=24 August 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180922211439/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-08-24/nepal-china-agree-on-rail-study.html |archive-date=22 September 2018 |url-status=live }}

The construction of the Sichuan–Tibet Railway began in 2015. The line is expected to be completed around 2025.{{cite web |last = Chu |title = China Approves New Railway for Tibet |url = http://english.cri.cn/12394/2014/10/31/3685s850380.htm |website = english.cri.cn |publisher = CRI |access-date = 9 November 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141109220511/http://english.cri.cn/12394/2014/10/31/3685s850380.htm |archive-date = 9 November 2014 |url-status = dead }}

{{Portal|Geography|Asia|China}}

{{col div |colwidth = 40em }}

• China Tibetology Research Center
• Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China
• History of Tibet (1950–present)
• Kazara
• List of prisons in the Tibet Autonomous Region
• List of universities and colleges in Tibet
• Tibet Area (administrative division)
• Tibetan independence movement
• Sinicization of Tibet
• Shigatse Photovoltaic Power Plant

{{colend}}

{{NoteFoot}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Laird |first=Thomas |title = The Story of Tibet : Conversations with the Dalai Lama |url = https://archive.org/details/storyoftibetconv00lair |url-access=registration |year=2006 |publisher=Grove Press |location = New York |isbn=978-0-8021-1827-1 |edition=1st }}

{{refend}}

• {{cite book |title=Dialogues Tibetan dialogues Han |date=2008 |publisher=Hannü |location=[Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar] |isbn=978-988-97999-3-9}}, travelogue from Tibet – by a woman who's been travelling around Tibet for over a decade,
• {{cite book |last1=Wilby |first1=Sorrel |title=Journey Across Tibet: A Young Woman's 1900-Mile Trek Across the Rooftop of the World |date=1988 |publisher=Contemporary Books |location=Chicago |isbn=0-8092-4608-2}}, hardcover, 236 pages.
• {{cite journal |last1=Hillman |first1=Ben |title=China's many Tibets: Diqing as a model for 'development with Tibetan characteristics?' |journal=Asian Ethnicity |date=1 June 2010 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=269–277 |doi=10.1080/14631361003779604 |s2cid=145011878 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14631361003779604 |access-date=30 April 2021 |issn=1463-1369}}

{{Wiktionary|Tibet Autonomous Region}}

{{Commons|Tibet}}

{{Wikivoyage|Tibet|Tibet Autonomous Region}}

• {{Official website}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508074448/http://www.xizang.gov.cn/ |date=8 May 2021 }}.
• [https://case.edu/affil/tibet/tibetanSociety/documents/TAR-Census2.pdf Population Structure and Changes in the Tibet Autonomous Region]

{{Clear}}

{{Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China}}

{{Tibet Autonomous Region}}

{{Tibetan autonomy in the People's Republic of China}}

{{Tibet related articles}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Autonomous regions of China

Category:Tibetan autonomous areas

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Category:Western China

Category:1965 establishments in China

Category:States and territories established in 1965

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