Tibet Autonomous Region
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| Abbreviation: 藏 (pinyin: Zàng) | |
| Missing image China-Tibet.png Tibet Autonomous Region is highlighted on this map | |
| Origin of Name | 西 xī - west 藏 zàng - Tibetan "Tibet in the west" |
| Administration Type | Autonomous region |
| Capital and Largest City | Lhasa |
| CPC Tibet Committee Secretary | Yang Chuantang |
| Chairman | Jampa Phuntsok |
| Area | 1,228,400 km² (2nd) |
| Population (2002) - Density | 2,670,000 (31st) 2.2/km² (31st) |
| GDP (2003) - per capita | 18.45 billion ¥ (31st) 6046 ¥ (22nd) |
| Major Nationalities (2000) | Tibetan - 93% Han - 6% Hui - 0.3% Monpa - 0.3% |
| Prefecture-level divisions | 7 |
| County-level divisions | 73 |
| Township-level divisions | 692 |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-54 |
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Tibetan: བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་, Pö Rangyongjong; Template:Zh-stp), is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Within the PRC the TAR is identified with Tibet, a characterization hotly disputed by many Tibetan exile groups, particularly the Government of Tibet in Exile, which define the terms "Tibet" or "historic Tibet" to include not just the TAR, but also the traditional province of Amdo, today encorporated in Qinghai province and southwestern of Gansu province, and the traditional province of Kham (eastern half), today in western Sichuan province and northwestern Yunnan province. The TAR includes about half of historic Tibet, including the traditional provinces of U-Tsang and Kham (western half). Its borders coincide roughly with the actual zone of control of the government of Tibet before 1959.
There is also a debate surrounding the extent of actual autonomy in the TAR. The opinion of the PRC is that the TAR has ample autonomy, as guaranteed under Articles 111-122 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China as well as the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy of the People's Republic of China. For example, the chairman of the TAR must be ethnic Tibetan, by law. However, independence advocates are of the opinion that the TAR has little or no autonomy. For over a decade, the 14th Dalai Lama has publicly stated that he seeks to negotiate "genuine self-government" or "genuine self-rule" for Tibet within the context of the Chinese state, indicating that he is of the opinion that the current state the TAR does not give the Tibetans genuine self-rule.
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History
See History of Tibet for the history of the area before 1959.
Before 1959, the present extent of the TAR, comprising U-Tsang and western Kham, was governed by the government of Tibet headed by the Dalai Lama, which the Government of Tibet in Exile characterizes as a sovereign independent nation, and the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China as a self-governing Region within China. Other parts of historic Tibet (eastern Kham and Amdo) were not under the administration of the Tibetan government during the 20th century; today they are distributed among the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.
Following Soviet practice, there is a convention that the governor of the TAR is an ethnic Tibetan from the TAR while the general secretary of the local Communist Party committee is an outsider, usually Han Chinese. Notable general secretaries of the TAR Party committee include Hu Jintao who served in the 1980s.
See also:
Geography
The TAR is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on Earth. Most of the Himalaya mountain range lies within Xizang; Mount Everest is on Xizang's border with Nepal.
The TAR is bounded on the north and east by Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Sichuan, on the west by Kashmir and on the south by Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. TAR also borders on Bhutan, India, and Pakistan.
Administrative divisions
Tibet Autonomous Region is divided into 1 prefecture-level city (Lhasa) and 6 prefectures (Nagqu Prefecture, Qamdo Prefecture, Nyinchi Prefecture, Shannan Prefecture, Xigazê Prefecture, Ngari Prefecture). All of these are in turn divided into 1 district (Chengguan District, Lhasa), 1 county-level city (Xigazê), and 71 counties.
Demographics
The TAR has the lowest population density among all of the province-level administrative regions in China, mainly due to its mountainous and harsh geographical features.
Most of the population comprises the ethnic Tibetans, who mainly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön. A sizeable population comprises the Han Chinese, who are recent immigrants from other parts of China. Intermarriages between the Han Chinese and Tibetans do exist, although they have proved to be unpopular.
Smaller tribal groups such as the Monpa and Lhoba, who follow a combination of Lamaism and spirit worship, are found mainly in the southeastern parts of the region.
Economy
The Tibetans traditionally depended upon agriculture for survival. However since the 1980's, with the arrival of modernism from China, other jobs such as taxi-driving and hotel retail work have become available. In 2003, its GDP of 2.2 billion USD is the smallest in all of the PRC's provinces and regions -- contributing to just 0.1% of the entire country's economy.
Tourism
Ever since China opened its doors to tourists in the 1980s, many people from all over the world have came to visit and explore Tibet. The main attraction is the Potala Palace.
Further reading
- Sorrel Wilby, Journey Across Tibet: A Young Woman's 1900-Mile Trek Across the Rooftop of the World, Contemporary Books (1988), hardcover, 236 pages, ISBN 0809246082
External links
Pro-PRC
- Tibet Online (http://www.tibetonline.net/) (Simplified Chinese)
- Tibet University (http://www.utibet.edu.cn/) (Simplified Chinese)
- Tibet Tour (Tibet Tourism Bureau Official Site) (http://www.tibettour.org/chinatibettoursite/moban/index.asp)
- PRC Government Tibet information (http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/zt/zgxz/default.htm)
- Naming of Tibet (http://www.chinatibetnews.com/BIG5/channel19/155/200212/16/5475.html) (Simplified Chinese)
- China, Tibet and the Chinese nation (http://www.index-china.com/index-english/Tibet-s.html)
- China Tibet Information Center (http://www.tibetinfor.com.cn/english/)
- Chinese government white paper, "Tibet's March Toward Modernization" (http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/20011108/index.htm) (2001)
- Chinese government white paper "Tibet -- Its Ownership And Human Rights Situation" (http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/tibet/) (1992)
- White Paper on Ecological Improvement and Environmental Protection in Tibet (http://english.people.com.cn/whitepaper/tbpaper/tb.html)
- White Paper on Tibetan Culture and Homayk (http://english.people.com.cn/features/tibetpaper/tibet.html)
- Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet (http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-05/23/content_333030.htm) (May 2004)
Pro-independence
- The Government of Tibet in exile (http://www.tibet.com/)
- Central Tibetan Administration (Government in Exile) (http://www.tibet.net/)
- Tibet Online - Tibet Support Group (http://www.tibet.org/)
- Repression in Tibet, 1987 - 1992 (http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/china/document.do?id=B0641B4B43873B66802569A600601F21)
- Repression in Tibet (http://www.kinaboykot.dk/video.htm)
- Students for a Free Tibet (http://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/)
- Free Tibet website (http://www.freetibet.org/)
- Tibetan Studies WWW Virtual Library (http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVL-TibetanStudies.html)
- Faith in Exile (http://www.archive.org/download/tibet_gnn/tibet_bb.mov) - A video by the Guerrilla News Network
- Olympic Watch (http://www.olympicwatch.org/topics.php?id=10) (Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games in a Free and Democratic Country) on Tibet-related issues
- Freedom of expression violations in Tibet (http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/50602/)
- Canada Tibet Committee (http://www.tibet.ca/)
Others
- Haiwei Trails - Timeline of Tibet (http://www.haiweitrails.com/timeline_tibet.htm)
- The Tibet Map Institute (http://www.tibetmap.com/)
- Tibet Maps (http://www.accesstibettour.com/tibet-map.html)
- Beefy's Nepal and Tibet Page (http://www.tibet.freeserve.co.uk/) - photos and information on Tibet (and Nepal)
- Tibetan Support Programme (http://www.tibetsupport.org/)
- The Impact of China's Reform Policy on the Nomads of Western Tibet by Melvyn C. Goldstein and Cynthia M. Beall (http://www.cwru.edu/affil/tibet/booksAndPapers/Impact_China_Reform_Policy.htm) - An examination of the impact of China's post-1980 Tibet policy on a traditional nomadic area of Tibet's Changtang (Northern Plateau) about 300 miles west-north-west of Lhasa in Phala Xiang, Ngamring county.
- Tibet Tours (http://www.chinahighlights.com/tibet/index.htm)
- A Local Travel Agency (http://www.accesstibettour.com/)
- Tibet Travel (http://www.tibettrip.com/)
For "Historic Tibet", see Tibet. The location of this article does not imply any official position by Wikipedia on whether "Tibet" corresponds to Historic Tibet or Tibet Autonomous Region.
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