Tibet Autonomous Region
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| བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་ (Tibetan) Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs (Wylie) 西藏自治区 (Chinese) Xīzàng Zìzhìqū (Pinyin) Tibet Autonomous Region |
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| Abbreviations: 藏 (Pinyin: Zàng) | |
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| Origin of name | See Origin of name |
| Administration type | Autonomous region |
| Capital (and largest city) |
Lhasa |
| CPC Ctte 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 (medium) (31st) |
| Major nationalities | 92.8% Tibetan |
| Prefecture-level | 7 divisions |
| County-level | 73 divisions |
| Township-level† | 692 divisions |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-54 |
| Official website |
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| Source for population and GDP data:
《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005
Source for nationalities data:
ISBN 7503747382 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China
† As at December 31, 2004ISBN 7105054255 |
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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.
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[edit] History
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. The Government of Tibet in Exile characterizes the area as an independent and sovereign nation, while the governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China characterize it 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 twentieth 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.
[edit] Geography
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 lies on Xizang's border with Nepal.
Xinjiang, Qinghai and Sichuan lie to the north and east of the TAR; India and Kashmir to the west; and Yunnan, Nepal, India and Bhutan to the south.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Tibet Autonomous Region is divided into one prefecture-level city (Lhasa) and six prefectures (Nagqu, Qamdo, Nyinchi, Shannan, Xigazê and Ngari prefectures). These in turn are subdivided into a total of seventy-one counties, one district (Chengguan District, Lhasa) and one county-level city (Xigazê).
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 China's province-level administrative regions, mostly 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
- Further information: List of towns and villages in the Tibet Autonomous Region
[edit] Economy
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. In 2005, Tibet's nominal GDP topped 25 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion), more than double the 11.78 billion yuan (US$1.47 billion) in 2000. In the past five years, Tibet's annual GDP growth has averaged 12%.
While traditional agricultural work and animal husbandry continue to lead the area's economy, in 2005 the tertiary sector contributed more than half its GDP growth, the first time it has surpassed the area's primary industry [2] [3]. 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 [4].
In 2005, the per capita disposable incomes of urban and rural residents in Tibet averaged 8,411 yuan (US$1,051) and 2,075 yuan (US$259) respectively. These figures were an increase of 30.4% and 55.9% over those of 2000 [5].
The China Western Development policy has recently been adopted by central government to boost economic development in western China, including the TAR.
[edit] Tourism
Tourists were first permitted to visit the TAR in the 1980s. 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
- China, Tibet and the Chinese nation
- China Tibet Information Center
- Chinese government white paper "Tibet -- Its Ownership And Human Rights Situation" (1992)
- Chinese government white paper, "Tibet's March Toward Modernization" (2001)
- (Chinese) Naming of Tibet
- PRC Government Tibet information
- Regional Ethnic Autonomy in Tibet (May 2004)
- (Chinese) Tibet Online
- Tibet Tour (Tibet Tourism Bureau Official Site)
- (Chinese) Tibet University
- White Paper on Ecological Improvement and Environmental Protection in Tibet
- White Paper on Tibetan Culture and Homayk
[edit] Against PRC rule and/or policies in Tibet
- Amnesty International Report 2004
- Canada Tibet Committee
- Central Tibetan Administration (Government in Exile)
- The Government of Tibet in exile
- Faith in Exile, a video by the Guerrilla News Network.
- "Free Tibet" website
- Freedom of expression violations in Tibet
- Olympic Watch (Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games in a Free and Democratic Country) on Tibet-related issues.
- Repression in Tibet
- Repression in Tibet, 1987 - 1992
- Students for a Free Tibet
- Tibet Online - Tibet Support Group
- Tibetan Studies WWW Virtual Library
- Beefy's Nepal and Tibet Page - photos and information on Tibet (and Nepal)
- The Impact of China's Reform Policy on the Nomads of Western Tibet by Melvyn C. Goldstein and Cynthia M. Beall. 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.
- Photos of the March 10th Commemoration, the Tibetan National Uprising Day.
[edit] Apolitical
Prefecture-level divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region
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| List of Tibet Autonomous Region County-level divisions |
| Tibetan autonomous areas in the People's Republic of China | ||
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| Tibet Autonomous Region | (consists of Lhasa · Nagqu · Qamdo · Shannan · Xigazê · Ngari · Nyingchi) |  |
| in Gansu Province | Gannan · Tianzhu | |
| in Qinghai Province | Haibei · Hainan · Haixi (Mongols and Tibetans) · Huangnan · Golog · Yushu | |
| in Sichuan Province | Garzê · Ngawa (Tibetans and Qiang) · Muli | |
| in Yunnan Province | Dêqên | |
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See also Political divisions of China
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| Province-level divisions administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC) | ||
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| Provinces | Anhui · Fujian · Gansu · Guangdong · Guizhou · Hainan · Hebei · Heilongjiang · Henan · Hubei · Hunan · Jiangsu · Jiangxi · Jilin · Liaoning · Qinghai · Shaanxi · Shandong · Shanxi · Sichuan · Taiwan1 · Yunnan · Zhejiang | |
| Autonomous regions | Guangxi · Inner Mongolia · Ningxia · Tibet (Xizang) · Xinjiang | |
| Municipalities | Beijing · Chongqing · Shanghai · Tianjin | |
| Special administrative regions | Hong Kong · Macau | |
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1 Claimed by the PRC, but currently ruled by the Republic of China ("Taiwan"). See also Political status of Taiwan.
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