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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