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本頁面有藏文字母，作業系統及瀏覽器須支援特殊字母與符號才能正確顯示為藏文字母，否則可能變成亂碼、問號、空格等其它符號。

This article is on historic Tibet. "Tibet" can also refer to the Tibet Autonomous Region, whichHistoric Tibet is a part of cultural Tibet.

西藏（藏文བོད，拉丁文轉寫為Bod，在現代拉薩方言的發音為pö；中文古稱吐蕃），就歷史和文化的角度而言，是指整個藏區（這是有歧義的，見#名字與轄土爭議），位於亞洲的青藏高原，是藏族的聚居地。歷史意義下的西藏，其全部或絕大部分（視定義方式的不同）的轄土，位於今天的中華人民共和國的一部分。 All or most of historic Tibet (depending on definition) is currently a part of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

西藏自治區， With an average elevation of 4,900 m (16,000 ft), it is often called the 'Roof of the World'. 是位於東亞的一個區域，位於青藏高原之上。比鄰尼泊爾、不丹及印度等地。現為中國的一個自治區。

西藏的範圍是指中華人民共和國境內的西藏自治區（藏文བོད་རང་སྐྱོང་ལྗོངས་，拉丁文轉寫為Bod rang skyong ljongs），包括現時印度管轄的一個邦阿魯納恰爾邦。藏語文區域和藏民族區域還包括青海大部以及小部份的甘肅、四川、雲南。廣義來說西藏亦包含不丹、錫金與拉達克(Ladakh)。

清朝以前的西藏是由東北部的「安多」（A-mdo）、東南的「康」或「康巴」（Khams）、與中央的「衛」或「前藏」（dBus）、「藏」或「後藏」（gTsang）四部份組成。根據現時中華人民共和國的行政劃分，安多被分開並劃入西藏、青海、甘肅及四川的範圍，康東被劃入四川、雲南及青海，而康西及衛、藏、阿里地區則組成西藏自治區。在民國時期，西藏地方單單指「衛」、「藏」兩部份，也因此被稱作「西藏」，以跟東部的「安多」和「康」分開。又，民國時期的「康」屬於西康省。

藏族是西藏的主體民族，其語言為藏語，和漢語同屬漢藏語系。

西藏自治區的首府是拉薩。


						西藏流亡人士宣稱的歷史意義下的西藏
						中華人民共和國認定的西藏地區
						中華人民共和國西藏自治區中的實際控制部分
						印度宣稱（未實際控制）的阿克賽欽邦的一部分
						中華人民共和國宣稱（未實際控制）的西藏自治區的一部分
						其它歷史上屬於西藏文化圈的地區

西藏轄地的定義

西藏流亡政府和中華人民共和國對西藏轄地的定義有着很大的區別。

前者將其定義為：

歷經多個世紀的西藏文化實體的轄地（包括傳統省份「安多」、「康」、「衛藏」）中的中華人民共和國實際控制的部分（而不包括歷史上同屬西藏文化圈的Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Ladakh等地）

後者將其定義為：

包括印度實際控制的Arunachal Pradesh在內的西藏自治區，其轄地僅為西藏文化實體中的一部分（包括衛藏、西康）。而西藏文化實體的其餘部分（包括安多、東康）則被中華人民共和國劃至青海省、甘肅省、雲南省、四川省的管轄範圍。

some Chinese may consider Sikkim, Bhutan, and Ladakh to be parts of cultural Greater Tibet in addition to Amdo, Kham, and Ü-Tsang.

Status

While there is little dispute that Tibet was once an independent country, there is intense dispute over the legitimacy of the PRC's rule over Tibet today.

Since 1959 the former government of Tibet, led by the 14th Dalai Lama, has maintained a government in exile at Dharamsala, in northern India. It claims sovereignty over Tibet, with borders defined as the entirety of what it terms "Historic Tibet", although it controlled only about half of that area before 1959. The Government of Tibet claims Tibet to be a distinct nation independent before conquest by the Mongol Empire (Yuan Dynasty) 700 years ago; between the fall of the Mongol Empire in 1368 and subjugation by the Manchu Empire (Qing Dynasty) in 1720; and again between the fall of the Manchu Empire in 1912 and incorporation into the PRC in 1951. Moreover, even during the periods of nominal subjugation to the Mongol and Manchu Empires, Tibet was largely self-governing. As such, the Tibetan government in exile views current PRC rule in Tibet as colonial and illegitimate, motivated solely by the natural resources and strategic value of Tibet, and in gross violation of both Tibet's historical status as an independent country and the right of Tibetan people to self-determination. It also points to the autocratic and divide-and-rule policies imposed by the PRC, as well as what it claims to be assimilationist policies of the PRC, regarding those as an example of Chinese imperialism bent at destroying Tibet's distinct ethnic makeup, culture, and identity, thereby cementing it as an indivisible part of China.

On the other hand, the PRC claims to rule Tibet legitimately, by claiming that Tibet has been an indivisible part of China de jure since Mongol (Yuan) conquest 700 years ago, comparable to other states such as the Kingdom of Dali and the Tangut Empire that were also incorporated into the Mongol Empire at the time and have remained in China ever since. The PRC contends that all subsequent Chinese governments (Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, Republic of China, and People's Republic of China) have succeeded the Yuan Dynasty in exercising de jure sovereignty and de facto power over Tibet. Moreover, the PRC contends that even during the period (1912-1951) commonly held to be the last period of Tibetan independence, China continued to maintain sovereignty over Tibet; no country gave Tibet diplomatic recognition; and Tibet itself acknowledged Chinese sovereignty by sending delegates to the Drafting Committee for a new constitution of the Republic of China in 1925; to the National Assembly of the Republic of China in 1931; to the fourth National Congress of the Kuomintang in 1931; to a National Assembly for drafting a new Chinese constitution in 1946; and to another National Assembly for drafting a new Chinese constitution in 1948. [1] Finally, the PRC considers all movements aimed at ending Chinese sovereignty in Tibet, starting with British attempts in the late 19th century and early 20th century, to the Government of Tibet in Exile today, as one long campaign abetted by malicious Western imperialism aimed at destroying Chinese integrity and sovereignty, thereby weakening China's position in the world. The PRC also points to the autocratic and theocratic policies of the government of Tibet before 1959, as well as its renunciation of Arunachal Pradesh, claimed by China as a part of Tibet occupied by India, and its association with India, and as such claims the Government of Tibet in Exile has no moral legitimacy to govern Tibet.

關於名字

In English

The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European languages, ultimately derives (via Arabic and Persian) from a Turkic word Töbän (pl. Töbäd) meaning "the heights". (Behr, W. Oriens 34 (1994): 557-564.) The Chinese word for the Tibetan Empire (7th - 11th centuries), 吐蕃 (tǔfān or tǔbō), may have the same origin.

藏語

藏族人稱之為Bod (བོད་)，在拉薩方言的發音為pö。It is first attested in the geography of 托勒密 as βαται (batai) and in Chinese texts as fa (Beckwith, C. U. of Indiana Diss. 1977). They refer to a fatherland, rather than a motherland as does India.

In Chinese

The Chinese name for Tibet, 西藏 (Xīzàng), is a phonetic transliteration derived from Tsang (western Ü-Tsang) The name originated during the Manchu Qing Dynasty of China. It can be broken down into Xi 西 (literally "West"), and Zang 藏 (literally "Tibetan"). The term can be interpreted as either "Western Tibet", or "Tibet of/in the West".

The government of the People's Republic of China equates Tibet with Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). As such, the name "Xizang" is equated with the TAR. In order to refer non-TAR Tibetan areas, or to all of cultural Tibet, the term 藏區 Zàngqū (literally, "ethnic Tibetan areas") is used. However, Chinese-language versions of pro-Tibetan independence websites, such as the Free Tibet Campaign, the Voice of Tibet, and Tibet Net use 西藏 ("Xizang"), not 藏區 ("Zangqu"), to mean historic Tibet.

Many English-speakers reserve "Xizang", the Chinese word transliterated into English, for the TAR, to keep the concept distinct from that of historic Tibet. Some pro-independence advocates duplicate the situation into the Chinese language, and use 土伯特 or 图伯特, which are both phonetic transcriptions of the word "Tibet", to refer to historic Tibet, though this usage is rare.

The character 藏 (zàng) has been used in transcriptions referring to Tsang as early as the Ming Dynasty, if not earlier, though the modern term "Xizang" was devised in the 18th century. The Chinese character 藏 (Zàng) has also been generalized to refer to all of Tibet, including Tibetan things such as the Tibetan language (藏文, Zàngwén) and the Tibetan people (藏族, Zàngzú). The two characters of Xīzàng can literally mean "western storehouse", which some Tibetans find offensive. However, the offending character, "zàng", can also mean "treasure" or "Buddhist scripture". In addition, Chinese transliterations of non-Chinese names do not necessarily take into account the literal meanings of words; usually a positive or neutral connotation combined with phonetic similarity is enough for the transliteration to come into use.

Cities

Lhasa is Tibet's traditional capital and the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. Other cities in Historic Tibet include Shigatse (Gzhis-ka-rtse), Gyantse (Rgyang-rtse), Chamdo (Qamdo)/(Chab-mdo), Nagchu (Nag-chu), Nyingchi (Nying-khri), Nedong (Sne-gdong), Dartsendo (Dar-btsen-mdo), Jyekundo (Skyes-rgu-mdo) or Yushu (Yul-shul), Golmud (Na-gor-mo), Barkam ('Bar-khams), Gartse (Dkar-mdzes), Lhatse (Lhar-tse), Machen (Rma-chen), Pelbar (Dpal-'bar), Sakya (Sa-skya) and Tingri (Ding-ri).

History

主條目：西藏歷史西藏歷史年表西藏對外關係

7世紀前的西藏是鮮為人知的，從語言看與漢、緬有較親密的關係。

觀音送子(Avalokitesvara 觀世音菩薩真相A Study In Buddhist Avalokitesvara. 觀音根據14世紀傳說是松贊干布所著的《十萬寶詔》 (Mani bKa'-'bum) 中，言西藏是觀音菩薩所選擇的樂土，松贊干布贊普是觀音菩薩的化身。 7世紀前的西藏是鮮為人知的，從語言看與漢、緬有較親密的關係。

西藏位於印度文明和漢文明之間，因處於青藏高原而與這兩種文明隔絕。沒有確切的證據證實藏族人源於中亞還是東亞，不過從藏語與漢語、緬甸語的親近性來看，藏族人應與漢族人、緬甸人有着共同的來源。

公元七世紀 Little is known of Tibet before the 7th century, though the Tibetan language is generally considered to be a Tibeto-Burman language and related distantly to Chinese.

According to a legend in 14th century Mani Bka' 'bum, the Tibetans are descended from the union of a monkey and a rock ogress. The monkey was an incarnation of Avalokiteśvara (Spyan ras gzigs in Tibetan, pronounced Cenrezik), the Buddha of compassion, and the ogress an incarnation of Tara ('Grol ma in Tibetan, pronounced Drolma).

Tibet was a strong empire between the 7th and 10th centuries. The distinctive form of Tibetan society, in which land was divided into three different types of holding - estates of noble families, freeheld lands and estates held by monasteries of particular Tibetan Buddhists sects - arose after the weakening of the Tibetan kings in the 10th century. This form of society was to continue into the 1950s, at which time more than 700,000 of the country's population of 1.25 million were serfs.

In the 13th century Tibet was incorporated into the Mongolian empire. The Mongol rulers granted secular leadership of Tibet to the Sa-skya school of Tibetan Buddhism. There followed an interregnum period in which there were three secular dynasties. In the 16th century, Altan Khan of Tumet Mongolian tribe supported the Dalai Lama's religious lineage to be the dominant religion among Mongols and Tibetans.

By the early 18th century Chinese central government sent resident commissioner (amban) to Lhasa. When Tibetan factions rebelled in 1759 and killed the resident commissioners after the central government decided to reduce the number of soldiers to about 100, a Qing army entered and defeated the rebels and reinstalled the resident commissioner. The number of soldiers in Tibet was kept at about 2000. The defensive duties were partly helped out by a local force which was reorganized by the resident commissioner, and the Tibetan government continued to manage day-to-day affairs as before.

In 1904 the British sent a largely Indian military force and seized Lhasa, forcing Tibet to open a border crossing with British India. A 1906 treaty with China repeated these conditions, making Tibet a de facto British protectorate. There was also a Nepalese mission in Lhasa remaining from a similar invasion by Nepal in 1855.

After 1907, a treaty between Britain, China, and Russia recognized Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. The Qing central government established direct rule for the first time in 1910; however, Chinese troops had to withdraw to China proper due to the unrest of the 1911 Revolution, giving the Dalai Lama the opportunity to re-establish control. In 1913, Tibet and Mongolia signed a treaty proclaiming mutual recognition and their independence from China. In 1914 a treaty was negotiated in India by representatives of China, Tibet and Britain: the Simla Convention. During the convention, the British tried to divide Tibet into Inner and Outer Tibet. When negotiations broke down over the specific boundary between Inner and Outer, the British demanded instead to advance their line of control, enabling them to annex 90,000 square kilometers of traditional Tibetan territory in southern Tibet, which corresponds to most of the modern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, while recognizing Chinese suzerainty over Tibet and Tibetan autonomy. Tibetan representatives secretly signed under British pressure; however, the representative of Chinese central government declared that the secretive annexation of territory was not acceptable. The boundary established in the convention, the McMahon Line, was considered by the British and later the independent Indian government to be the boundary; however, the Chinese view since then has been that since China, which was sovereign over Tibet, did not sign the treaty, the treaty was meaningless, and the annexation and control of southern Tibet / Arunachal Pradesh by India is illegal. This paved the way to the Sino-Indian War of 1962 boundary dispute between China and India today.

The subsequent outbreak of World War I and civil war in China caused the Western powers and the infighting factions of China proper to lose interest in Tibet, and the 13th Dalai Lama ruled undisturbed. At that time the government of Tibet controlled all of Ü-Tsang (Dbus-gtsang) and western Kham (Khams), roughly coincident with the borders of Tibet Autonomous Region today. Eastern Kham, separated by the Yangtze River was under the control of Chinese warlord Liu Wenhui. The situation in Amdo (Qinghai) was more complicated, with the Xining area controlled by ethnic Hui warlord Ma Bufang, who constantly strove to exert control over the rest of Amdo (Qinghai).

Neither the Nationalist government of the Republic of China nor the People's Republic of China has ever renounced China's sovereignty over Tibet. In 1950 the People's Liberation Army entered Tibet, crushing the Tibetan army. In 1951 the Plan for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, a treaty signed under Chinese pressure by representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, provided for rule by a joint administration under representatives of the central government and the Tibetan government. Most of the population of Tibet at that time were serfs, bound to land owned by lamas. Any attempt at land reform or the redistribution of wealth would have proved unpopular with the established landowners. This agreement was initially put into effect in Tibet proper. However, Eastern Kham and Amdo were outside the administration of the government of Tibet, and were thus treated like any other Chinese province with land reform implemented in full. As a result, a rebellion broke out in Amdo and eastern Kham in June of 1956. The rebellion, supported by the American CIA, eventually spread to Lhasa. It was crushed by 1959. Tibetan exiles claim that during this campaign, tens of thousands of Tibetans were killed. The 14th Dalai Lama and other government principals fled to exile in India, but isolated resistance continued in Tibet until 1969 when CIA support was withdrawn.

Although he remained a virtual prisoner, the Chinese set the Panchen Lama as a figurehead in Lhasa, claiming that he headed the legitimate Government of Tibet in the absence of the Dalai Lama, the traditional head of the Tibetan government. In 1965, the area that had been under the control of the Dalai Lama's government from the 1910s to 1959 (U-Tsang and western Kham) was set up as an Autonomous Region. The monastic estates were broken up and secular education introduced. During the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards, which included Tibetan members, inflicted a campaign of organized vandalism against cultural sites in the entire PRC, including Tibet's Buddhist heritage. Of the several thousand monasteries in Tibet, over 6000 were destroyed [2], only a handful remained without major damage, and thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns were killed or imprisoned.

Since 1979 there has been economic reform, but no political reform, like the rest of the PRC. Some PRC policies in Tibet have been described as moderate, while others are judged to be more oppressive. Most religious freedoms have been officially restored, provided the lamas do not challenge PRC rule. Foreigners can visit most parts of Tibet, and it is claimed that the less savoury aspects of PRC rule are kept hidden from visitors.

In 1989 the Panchen Lama died, and the Dalai Lama and the PRC recognised different reincarnations. The Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama but without confirmation by the vase lot, while the PRC named another child, Gyancain Norbu by the vase lot. Gyancain Norbu was raised in Beijing and has appeared occasionally on state media. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family have gone missing, into imprisonment according to Tibetan exiles, and under a hidden identity for protection and privacy according to the PRC. [3]

The PRC continues to portray its rule over Tibet as an unalloyed improvement, and foreign governments continue to make occasional protests about aspects of PRC rule in Tibet. All governments, however, recognise PRC sovereignty over Tibet, and none has recognised the Dalai Lama's government in exile in India.

Evaluation of PRC rule

Tibetan exiles generally say that the number that have died in the Great Leap Forward, violence, or other unnatural causes since 1950 is approximately 1.2 million, which the Chinese Communist Party denies. According to Patrick French, a supporter of the Tibetan cause who was able to view the data and calculations, the estimate is not reliable because the Tibetans were not able to process the data well enough to produce a credible total. There were, however, many casualties, perhaps as many as 400,000. This figure is extrapolated from a calculation Warren W. Smith made from census reports of Tibet which show 200,000 "missing" from Tibet. Even The Black Book of Communism expresses doubt at the 1.2 million figure, but does note that according to Chinese census there was a population of 2.8 million in 1953, but only 2.5 million in 1964 in Tibet proper.

The government of Tibet in Exile also says that millions of Chinese immigrants to the TAR are diluting the Tibetans both culturally and through intermarriage. Exile groups say that despite recent attempts to restore the appearance of original Tibetan culture to attract tourism, the traditional Tibetan way of life is now irrevocably changed. It is also reported that when Hu Yaobang, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, visited Lhasa in 1980 he was unhappy when he found out the region was behind neighbouring provinces. Reforms were instituted, and since then the central government's policy in Tibet has granted most religious freedoms. But monks and nuns are still sometimes imprisoned, and many Tibetans (mostly monks and nuns) continue to flee Tibet yearly. At the same time, many Tibetans view projects that the PRC claims to benefit Tibet, such as the China Western Development economic plan or the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad, as politically-motivated actions to consolidate central control over Tibet by facilitating militarization and Han Chinese migration while benefiting few Tibetans.

The government of the PRC says that the population of Tibet in 1737 was about 8 million, and that due to the backward rule of the local theocracy, there was rapid decrease in the next two hundred years and the population in 1959 was only about 1.19 million. Today, the population of Greater Tibet is 7.3 million, of which 5 million is ethnic Tibetan, according to the 2000 census. The increase is viewed as the result of the abolishment of the theocracy and introduction of a modern, higher standard of living. Based on the census numbers, the PRC also rejects claims that the Tibetans are being swamped by Han Chinese; instead the PRC says that the border for Greater Tibet drawn by the government of Tibet in Exile is so large that it incorporates regions such as Xining that are not traditionally Tibetan in the first place, hence exaggerating the number of non-Tibetans.

The government of the PRC also rejects claims that the lives of Tibetans have deteriorated, pointing to rights enjoyed by the Tibetan language in education and in courts and says that the lives of Tibetans have been improved immensely compared to the Dalai Lama's rule before 1950. Benefits that are commonly quoted include: the GDP of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) today is 30 times that before 1950; TAR has 22,500 km of highways, as opposed to 0 in 1950; all secular education in TAR was created after the revolution; TAR now has 25 scientific research institutes as opposed to 0 in 1950; infant mortality has dropped from 43% in 1950 to 0.661% in 2000; life expectancy has risen from 35.5 years in 1950 to 67 in 2000; the collection and publishing of the traditional Epic of King Gesar, which is the longest epic poem in the world and had only been handed down orally before; allocation of 300 million Renminbi since the 1980s to the maintenance and protection of Tibetan monasteries. [4] The Cultural Revolution and the cultural damage it wrought upon the entire PRC is generally condemned as a nationwide catastrophe, whose main instigators (in the PRC's view, the Gang of Four) have been brought to justice and whose reoccurrence is unthinkable in an increasingly modernized China. The China Western Development plan is viewed by the PRC as a massive, benevolent, and patriotic undertaking by the eastern coast to help the western parts of China, including Tibet, catch up in prosperity and living standards.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Tibet

Tibet is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest region. Most of the Himalaya mountain range lies within Tibet. Its most famous peak, Mount Everest, is on Nepal's border with Tibet.

The atmosphere is severely dry nine months of the year. Western passes receive small amounts of fresh snow each year but remain traversable year round. Low temperatures are prevalent throughout these western regions, where bleak desolation is unrelieved by any vegetation beyond the size of low bushes, and where wind sweeps unchecked across vast expanses of arid plain. The Indian monsoon exerts some influence on eastern Tibet. Northern Tibet is subject to high temperatures in summer and intense cold in winter.

Historic Tibet consists of several regions:

Amdo (a'mdo) in the northeast, incorporated by China into the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan.
Kham (khams) in the east, part of Sichuan, northern Yunnan and part of Qinghai.
- Western Kham, part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region
U (dbus), in the center, part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region
Tsang (gtsang) in the west, part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region

Tibetan cultural influences extend to the neighboring states of Bhutan, Nepal, adjacent regions of India such as Sikkim and Ladakh, and adjacent provinces of China where Tibetan Buddhism is the predominant religion.

Several major rivers have their source in the Tibetan Plateau (mostly in present-day Qinghai Province), including:

Economy

The Tibetan economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture. Due to limited arable land, livestock raising is the primary occupation. In recent years, tourism has become an increasingly important sector, and is actively promoted by the authorities. The Qingzang Railway is being built to link the region with China proper.

Demographics

Ethnic Tibetan autonomous entities set up by the People's Republic of China. Opponents to the PRC dispute the actual level of autonomy.

Historically, the population of Tibet consisted of primarily ethnic Tibetans. Other ethnic groups in Tibet include Menba (Monpa), Lhoba, Mongols and Hui.

The issue of the proportion of the Han Chinese population in Tibet is a politically sensitive one. Between the 1960s and 1980s, many prisoners (over 1 million, according to Harry Wu) were sent to laogai camps in Amdo (Qinghai), where they were then employed locally after release. Since the 1980s, increasing economic liberalization and internal mobility has also resulted in the influx of many Han Chinese into Tibet for work or settlement, though the actual number of this floating population remains disputed. The Government of Tibet in Exile gives the number of non-Tibetans in Tibet as 7.5 million (as opposed to 6 million Tibetans), and considers this the result of an active policy of demographically swamping the Tibetan people and further diminishing any chances of Tibetan political independence, and as such, to be in violation of the Geneva Convention of 1946 that prohibits settlement by occupying powers. The Government of Tibet in Exile questions all statistics given by the PRC government, since they do not include members of the People's Liberation Army garrisoned in Tibet, or the large floating population of unregistered migrants. The Qingzang Railway (Xining to Lhasa) is also a major concern, as it is believed to further facilitate the influx of migrants.

However, the PRC government does not view itself as an occupying power and has vehemently denied allegations of demographic swamping. The PRC also does not recognize the borders of Tibet as claimed by the government of Tibet in Exile, saying that it was devised to deliberately include non-Tibetan areas populated by non-Tibetans for generations (such as the Xining area and the Chaidam Basin) in order to enhance the perception that Tibetans are now outnumbered in Tibet. The PRC gives the number of Tibetans in Tibet Autonomous Region as 2.4 million, as opposed to 190,000 non-Tibetans, and the number of Tibetans in all Tibetan autonomous entities combined (slightly smaller than the Greater Tibet claimed by exiled Tibetans) as 5.0 million, as opposed to 2.3 million non-Tibetans. In the TAR itself, much of the Han Chinese population is to be found in Lhasa. Population control policies like the one-child policy only apply to Han Chinese, not to minorities such as Tibetans. The PRC says that it is dedicated to the protection of traditional Tibetan culture; it also groups the Qingzang Railway, renovation work at the Potala Palace, and other projects as part of the China Western Development Strategy, a costly effort by the wealthier, eastern half of China to develop the poorer, western regions.

Major ethnic groups in Greater Tibet by region, 2000 census
	Total	Tibetans		Han Chinese		others
Tibet Autonomous Region:	2616329	2427168	92.8%	158570	6.1%	30591	1.2%
- Lhasa PLC	474499	387124	81.6%	80584	17.0%	6791	1.4%
- Chamdo Prefecture	586152	563831	96.2%	19673	3.4%	2648	0.5%
- Lhokha Prefecture	318106	305709	96.1%	10968	3.4%	1429	0.4%
- Shigatse Prefecture	634962	618270	97.4%	12500	2.0%	4192	0.7%
- Nagchu Prefecture	366710	357673	97.5%	7510	2.0%	1527	0.4%
- Ngari Prefecture	77253	73111	94.6%	3543	4.6%	599	0.8%
- Nyingtri Prefecture	158647	121450	76.6%	23792	15.0%	13405	8.4%
Qinghai Province:	4822963	1086592	22.5%	2606050	54.0%	1130321	23.4%
- Xining PLC	1849713	96091	5.2%	1375013	74.3%	378609	20.5%
- Haidong Prefecture	1391565	128025	9.2%	783893	56.3%	479647	34.5%
- Haibei AP	258922	62520	24.1%	94841	36.6%	101561	39.2%
- Huangnan AP	214642	142360	66.3%	16194	7.5%	56088	26.1%
- Hainan AP	375426	235663	62.8%	105337	28.1%	34426	9.2%
- Golog AP	137940	126395	91.6%	9096	6.6%	2449	1.8%
- Gyêgu AP	262661	255167	97.1%	5970	2.3%	1524	0.6%
- Haixi AP	332094	40371	12.2%	215706	65.0%	76017	22.9%
Tibetan areas in Sichuan province
- Aba AP	847468	455238	53.7%	209270	24.7%	182960	21.6%
- Garzê AP	897239	703168	78.4%	163648	18.2%	30423	3.4%
- Muli AC	124462	60679	48.8%	27199	21.9%	36584	29.4%
Tibetan areas in Yunnan province
- Dêqên AP	353518	117099	33.1%	57928	16.4%	178491	50.5%
Tibetan areas in Gansu province
- Gannan AP	640106	329278	51.4%	267260	41.8%	43568	6.8%
- Tianzhu AC	221347	66125	29.9%	139190	62.9%	16032	7.2%
Total for Greater Tibet:
With Xining and Haidong	10523432	5245347	49.8%	3629115	34.5%	1648970	15.7%
Without Xining and Haidong	7282154	5021231	69.0%	1470209	20.2%	790714	10.9%

This table includes all Tibetan autonomous entities in the People's Republic of China, plus Xining PLC and Haidong P. The latter two are included to complete the figures for Qinghai province, and also because they are claimed as parts of Greater Tibet by the Government of Tibet in exile.
Source: 2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料，民族出版社，2003/9 (ISBN 7105054255)
Does not include members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.
P = Prefecture; AP = Autonomous prefecture; PLC = Prefecture-level city; AC = Autonomous county

Culture

Main article: Culture of Tibet

Tibet is the traditional center of Tibetan Buddhism, a distinctive form of Vajrayana. Tibetan Buddhism is not only practiced in Tibet; it is also the prevalent religion in Mongolia and largely practiced by the Buryat people of Southern Siberia. Tibet is also home to the original spiritual tradition called Bön (also spelled Bon). Various dialects of the Tibetan language are spoken across the country. Tibetan is written in Tibetan script.

In Tibetan cities, there are also small communities of Muslims, known as Kachee (Kache), who trace their origin to immigrants from three main regions: Kashmir (Kachee Yul in ancient Tibetan), Ladakh and the Central Asian Turkic countries. Islamic influence in Tibet also came from Persia. There is also a well established Chinese Muslim community (gya kachee), which traces its ancestry back to the Hui ethnic group of China. It is said that Muslim migrants from Kashmir and Ladakh first entered Tibet around the 12th century. Marriages and social interaction gradually led to an increase in the population until a sizable community grew up around Lhasa.

The Potala Palace, former residence of the Dalai Lamas, is a World Heritage Site, as is Norbulingka, former summer residence of the Dalai Lama. The PRC government has planned to invest 179.3 million Renminbi in the renovation and restoration of the Potala Palace and 67.4 million Renminbi in the Norbulingka, starting from 2002.

During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, zealous Red Guards destroyed or vandalised most historically significant sites in Tibet, as a part of a broader campaign waged across China to destroy pre-Revolution cultural artifacts.

External links

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