Tibet Autonomous Region
The
Tibet Autonomous Region is located in the southwest part of the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It borders on Sichuan and Yunnan provinces to the
east, Qinghai and Xinjiang to the north, and shares borders with India,
Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Burma to the south, and bounded by Kashmir to
the west. The region covers more than 1.2 million square kilometers,
accounting for one eighth of China’s total land mass, and ranking second
in China. Tibet has a population of 2.61 million, 92.2 percent of whom
are Tibetans, or 2.41 million.
Geography and Climate
Tibet
has various complex landforms such as high and steep mountains, deep
valleys, glaciers, bare rocks and Gobi deserts. All places in the region
lie at an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters are known as "Roof
of the World". It is roughly divided into four areas: the north Tibet
plateau, the south Tibet valley, east Tibet mountains and valleys, and
Himalaya Mountains.
It
is bitterly cold in winter, with a marked difference in temperature
between daytime and night. It is dry in winter and spring, with frequent
occurrence of strong winds, as well as low oxygen content. Tibet is so
sunny as to have an annual sunshine of between 1,500 and 3,400 hours. It
has a short frost-free period, usually ranging from 120 to 140 days a
year.
Transportation
There
are daily trains to & from Beijing, Xining, Lanzhou, Chengdu and
Chongqing, and services either daily or every other day to Xian,
Shanghai and Guangzhou. All trains from Lhasa depart in the morning and
all trains to Lhasa arrive in the evening. Lhasa Airport, about 90 kms
from the downtown Lhasa, is also available.
Religion
Nearly
all Tibetans follow Tibetan Buddhism, known as Lamaism, with the
exception of approximately 2,000 followers of Islam and 600 of
Catholicism. Tibetan Buddhism was greatly influenced by Indian Buddhism
in its early time, but after years of evolution, Tibetan Buddhism has
developed its own distinctive qualities and practices. A well-known
example is the belief that there is a Living Buddha, who is the
reincarnation of the first, a belief alien to Chinese Buddhism.
Culture and Tourism
Although
a part of China, Tibet has a unique culture of its own. It is mainly
inhabited by Tibetans, a minority nationality of old and mysterious
people. Tibetan Buddhism is a primary influence on the art, music, and
festivals of the region. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and
Indian influences. Staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley, yak meat,
and butter tea.
Tourist
attractions include the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Jokhang Temple, and a
number of Buddhist sacred places. Northwest Tibet, mainly Qing Hai
plateau, is home to a variety of unusual and unique animals. Across the
northern expanse of Tibet, you can see vast grasslands where horses, yak
and sheep roam freely. The world's lowest valley, the Grand
Yarlun-tzanpo River Valley lies in east Tibet.
How to Prevent from Altitude Sickness
As
tourism in Tibet enters the peak season, more and more visitors are
longing to travel to the mysterious highland. Meanwhile, they are
worried about the altitude sickness. Experts advised that tourists to
Tibet should have a scientific and better understanding of the disease.
Causes:
Altitude
sickness, also known as acute high altitude disease (AHAD) is a common
physiological reaction caused by acute exposure to low oxygen content
and air pressure and dry weather when people getting up to a place with a
certain altitude.
Acute
altitude reaction usually occurs within hours or days after a person
goes up to a highland above 2,700 meters above sea level from a region
with a lower altitude. Most visitors to Tibet will suffer from at least
some symptoms which will generally disappear through acclimatization in
several hours to several days. It presents as a collection of
nonspecific symptoms including headache, shortness of breath, oppressed
feeling in the chest, lack of appetite, fever, dizziness, fatigue or
weakness, and etc. Some will even be come down with drowsiness,
insomnia, adrenaline surge, nosebleed and so on.
However,
experts point out that human bodies have a very magic capability of
acclimation. Therefore, altitude sickness is not that scary.
Food
Tibetan
people eat the staple food Tsampa (which is made of roasted barley,
ground with a hand mill into very fine flour) at every meal, and when
traveling, it is brought along as a ready-made meal. The salted butter
tea and sweet milk tea is an indispensable Tsampa companion. The most
popular kinds of milk in Tibet are used to extract ghee. They often
treat guests of qingke beer which is a sort of light alcohol made of
wheat or highland barley through fermentation. The distilled liquor not
only helps to keep the body warm but also promote the digestion of the
meat.
In
addition, Tibetan dagger is seen as the necessary part of the ordinary
Tibetan’s basic paraphernalia, not just a tool to defend, cut and eat
meat, but a fashionable accessory.
Universities in Lhasa
Tibet University