Tibet Autonomous Region

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Tibetan: བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་
Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs
Chinese: 西藏自治区
Xīzàng Zìzhìqū
Tibet Autonomous Region
Abbreviation(s): 藏 (pinyin: Zàng)
Tibet Autonomous Region is highlighted on this map
Origin of name See Tibet
Administration type Autonomous region
Capital and
Largest City		 Lhasa
CPC Tibet Committee Secretary Zhang Qingli
Chairman Qiangba Puncog
Area 1,228,400 km² (2nd)
Population (2004)
 - Density		 2,740,000 (31st)
2.2/km² (31st)
GDP (2004)
 - per capita		 CNY 21.15 billion (31st)
CNY 7720 (25th)
HDI (2005) 0.586 (31st) — medium
Major nationalities (2000) Tibetan - 92.8%
Han - 6.1%
Hui - 0.3%
Monpa - 0.3%
Others - 0.2%
Prefecture-level divisions 7
County-level divisions 73
Township-level divisions
(December 31, 2004)		 692
ISO 3166-2 CN-54
Official website:
Source for population and GDP data:
《中国统计年鉴—2005》/ China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382
Source for nationalities data:
《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》/ Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Tibetan: བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་; Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs; Simplified Chinese: 西藏自治区; Traditional Chinese: 西藏自治區; pinyin: Xīzàng Zìzhìqū), 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 incorporated 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 Ü-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 in the current state the TAR does not give the Tibetans genuine self-rule.

Contents

[edit] History

See History of Tibet for the history of the area before 1959.

Before 1959, the present extent of the TAR, comprising Ü-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:

[edit] Geography

The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest region.
Enlarge
The Tibet Autonomous Region is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest region.
Map of the Tibet Autonomous Region

The TAR is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on Earth. In northern Tibet elevations reach an average of over 4,572 metres. 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 India and Kashmir, and on the south by Yunnan, Nepal, India and Bhutan.

[edit] 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.

See List of administrative divisions of Tibet Autonomous Region for a complete list of county-level divisions.

[edit] 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.

As of 2000, 92.8% of the population are ethnic Tibetans, who mainly adhere to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön. Han Chinese, who are recent immigrants from other parts of the People's Republic of China, comprise 6.1% of the population.[1]

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.

[edit] Towns and villages in Tibet

See List of towns and villages in the Tibet Autonomous Region for a list of the towns and villages on the zone.

[edit] Economy

The Tibetans traditionally depended upon agriculture for survival. However since the 1980s, with the beginning of Chinese economic reform, other jobs such as taxi-driving and hotel retail work have become available. In 2005, Tibet's nominal GDP topped 25 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion), more than double the year 2000 figure of 11.78 billion yuan (US$1.47 billion). Tibet's annual GDP growth averaged 12% in the past five years. While traditional agricultural and animal husbandry industries continue to play a leading role in the local economic development, the tertiary sector has for the first time in 2005 surpassed the primary industry to contribute more than 50% to the local GDP growth [2] [3]. Besides, the re-opening of the Nathu La pass (in the southern Tibetan border with India) will facilitate Sino-Indian border trade, which will help to boost Tibet's economy [4]. The per capita disposable incomes of the urban and rural residents in Tibet averaged 8,411 yuan (US$1,051) and 2,075 yuan (US$259) respectively in 2005, up 30.4% and 55.9% over the 2000 level [5].

Recently, China Western Development policy is adopted to boost economic development in western China.

[edit] Tourism

Ever since the People's Republic of 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 in Lhasa.

[edit] 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 0-8092-4608-2

[edit] External links

[edit] For PRC rule and policies in Tibet

[edit] Against PRC rule and/or policies in Tibet

[edit] Apolitical

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Province-level divisions administered by the People's Republic of China Flag of the People's Republic of China
Provinces: Anhui | Fujian | Gansu | Guangdong | Guizhou | Hainan | Hebei | Heilongjiang | Henan | Hubei | Hunan | Jiangsu | Jiangxi | Jilin | Liaoning | Qinghai | Shaanxi | Shandong | Shanxi | Sichuan | Taiwan (claimed) | Yunnan | Zhejiang
Autonomous Regions: Guangxi | Inner Mongolia | Ningxia | Tibet | Xinjiang
Municipalities: Beijing | Chongqing | Shanghai | Tianjin
Special administrative regions: Hong Kong | Macau
See also: Political status of Taiwan and Taiwan Province (People's Republic of China)
Tibetan autonomous areas in the People's Republic of China Flag of the People's Republic of China
Tibet Autonomous Region: Lhasa | Nagqu | Qamdo | Shannan | Xigazê | Ngari | Nyingchi
In Qinghai Province: Haibei | Hainan | Haixi (Mongols and Tibetans) | Huangnan | Golog | Gyêgu
In Sichuan Province: Garzê | Ngawa (Tibetan and Qiang) | Muli
In Gansu Province: Gannan | Tianzhu
In Yunnan Province: Dêqên
See also: Political divisions of China
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