General Introduction

Locked in by towering mountains, Tibet on the southwestern border lies in the main part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest in the world, at an average altitude of 4,000 meters. Set up as an autonomous region in 1965, it has an area of more than 1.2 million square kilometers and a population of 1.85 million, of which 15 per cent live in the cities and 85 per cent in the rural areas and 1.65 million are Tibetans, the predominant nationality there, and the rest Huis, Moinbas, Lhobas and Hans.

Scenic Spots

LakeVegetation in the High Mountains
Lhasa
Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest) -- The Summit of the Globe
Ngari
Norbu Lingka
Pattra Sutras
Potala Palace
Rare Birds and Animals
ShigatseThe Legend of Nam
Zuglakang Monastery

Topography

The Himalayas in the south of Tibet have an average of 6,000 meters, the highest range on the earth. Their main peak, 8,848-metre Mount Qomolangma on the Sino-Nepalese border, is the summit of the globe. In the north are the Kunlun range and its branch, the Tanggula Mountains; in the middle the Gangdise range; and in the east the Hengduan range with numerous canyons and imposing mountains. North of the Gangdise range and south of the Kunlun range is the vast Northern Tibet Plateau. The Southern Tibet Valleys between the Gangdise and the Himalayas, crossed by the Yarlungzangbo River from west to east, are the principal farming and pastoral area of Tibet.

Tibet's major rivers include the Yarlungzangbo, Nujiang, Lancang and Jinsha. The Tibet Plateau, one of the regions in China with the greatest number of lakes, has numerous salt lakes, the largest being Nam Co. In all, lakes cover a total area of some 30,000 square kilometers on the plateau. Tibet ranks second in the country in hydroelectric power potentials.

Climate

Tibet has a highland climate, with lower temperature and less precipitation than most parts of China. It has thin air, long hours of sunshine and intense solar radiation. There is great difference in climate between the north -- where the Northern Tibet Plateau has a mean annual temperature of -2ºC. and is covered with snow half of the year -- and the south where the Southern Tibet Valleys are much more temperate and humid. Lhasa, for example, has a mean annual temperature of approximately 8ºC.


Communications

ailways

The first phase of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was completed in the early 1980s and is now carrying both cargo and passengers. Running 846.9 kilometers from Xining, the capital city of Qinghai, in the east to Golmud in western Qinghai, the line is built at more than 3,000 meters above sea level on average, rising to 3,700 meters at its highs.

Highways

Today, a 22,000-kilometer highway network radiating from Lhasa consisting of 15 main highways and 315 subsidiary roads has been formed. Most important are the Qinghai-Tibet Highway runs 2,122 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway covers 2,413 kilometers from Chengdu to Lhasa. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, from Yecheng to Gartok, runs for 1,179 kilometers. The Yunnan-Tibet Highway, from Xiaguan to Markam, is 315 kilometers long, while the Chinese section of the Sino-Nepalese Highway stretches 736 kilometers from Lhasa to Zhamu entry/exit port.

Airports

The Lhasa Airport has scheduled fights to Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. The distance by air from Lhasa to Chengdu is more than 1,100 kilometres. Each year more than 100,000 passengers and 1,600 tons of goods fly this route. The Gonggar Airport outside Lhasa now allows access to large passenger aircraft like Boeing 767. The 250-million-yuan Banda Airport, the world's highest, was completed in September 1994.