(Chinese name:
Xizang Autonomous Region).
An administrative region of the People's Republic of China, bordering on Kashmir, India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Burma. A high plateau, it is surrounded by mountains, including the Himalayas and the Kunlun mountains. Most agriculture and the country's cities are in the river valleys, while nomads herd such animals as yaks on the plateau. The area is rich in minerals, not mined until after the advent of the Chinese occupation because of religious proscription.
History: Buddhism, introduced inthe 7th Century AD,has exerted a profound influence on Tibetan history. The lamas (priests) of Tibetan Buddhism attained political power in the 13th Century, when Kublai Khan gave the government of his conquests in East Tibet to the Sakya lama. Subsequent disunity was brought to an end in 1642, when the fifth Dalai Lama (or "Great Fifth") became the ruler of all Tibet. In 1720 the Chinese Qing dynast established control over Tibet that lasted until the Qing's overthrow in 1911. Independence was subsequently reaffirmed and declared, but in 1950 Tibet again fell to the Chinese. An uprising was brutally suppressed in 1959, and the Dalai Lama, together with 9,000 refugees, fled to asylum in India. Tibet was subsequently subjected to Chinese rule. Since 1965, it has been an autonomous region of China, with its own People's Government and People's Congress. Nevertheless, the controlling force in China is the Communist Party of China, represented locally by First Secretary Wu Jinghua.
Area: 1,221,601 km2 (471,660 square miles). Population (1987, est.): 2,030,000. Capital: Lhasa.