Tibet, in Chinese Xizang, officially Xizang Zizhiqu, autonomous region in western China, in the highlands of Tibet, 1,228,400 km 2.
Tibet has 3.0 million residents (mostly Tibetans, along with around 180,000 Chinese according to countryaah, but probably more than 300,000 Han Chinese according to international estimates, often the majority population in cities); The capital is Lhasa. In addition to Chinese, the official language is also Tibetan.
In administrative terms, Tibet is divided into six prefectures (Shigatse, Shannan, Nyingchi, Qamdo, Nagqu, Ngari) and the 29,274 km 2 district of Lhasa, the actual urban area 53 km 2. Other cities are Shigatse (64,000 residents), Qamdo (44,000 residents) and Nagqu (43,000 residents). A high proportion of the poor population can be found in regions with few agricultural or productive opportunities.
From the main ridge of the Himalayas, where Tibet borders Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal, and its northern canopy, the region extends over the southern Tibetan long valley furrow, the Transhimalaya and the inhuman outflowless highlands of Tibet to Tanggula Shan on the border with Qinghai Province (im Northeast) and to Kunlun Shan on the border with Sinkiang Autonomous Region (in the western north). By far the largest part of the autonomous region of Tibet belongs to the Tibetan Plateau, which covers around 2 million km 2and an average height of 4,500 m above sea level is the most extensive, closed and highest highlands on earth. The mountain barriers that frame the highlands and rise 7,000–8,000 m above sea level make it the most isolated metropolitan area in Asia with its natural features and cultural landscape.
The north-eastern part belongs to the Qinghai Province (Qinghai Highlands between Nanshan and Bayan Har Shan). The central part is the Changtang highland between Kunlun Shan and the Transhimalaya, which has no outflow and is criss-crossed by a few mountain ranges in the west and northwest. Between the chains extend shallow basins filled with rubble due to predominant mechanical weathering (especially frost weathering) or occupied by salt lakes and swamps.
To the south of the watershed between the headwaters of Hwangho and Yangtze River, the eastern Tibetan marginal chains adjoin, tightly knit mountain ranges, some of which are glaciated in the peaks, which are separated from each other by river valleys that run parallel and cut like a gorge. Apart from the Yangtze River (border with Sichuan Province), the upper reaches of which stand out as an independent landscape, the Mekong and Salween are the most important rivers. In the extreme southeast, Tibet borders on Yunnan Province. South of the Transhimalaya, drainage takes place via the upper reaches of Brahmaputra (Yarlung Zangbo Jiang), Sutlej and Indus in the southern Tibetan long valley furrow, a rift zone over 1,600 km long, on average 3,600 m above sea level and bordered by the Himalayas in the south.
Tibet is characterized by drought, strong sunlight, warm summers and very cold winters (but the valleys are relatively protected); the daily temperature fluctuations are considerable. While the west and north of the country are distinctly arid areas, which are occupied by rock rubble and scree deserts, sporadically by thorn and dwarf shrub formations, the east has a warm and humid climate in summer (high steppes, which are in the area of the Qinghai Hu, the main pasture area of the Tibetans, merge into tree steppes). Agriculture can therefore only be practiced in the south and east. The main crops are barley (the main food is tsampa made from barley flour), wheat, millet and buckwheat, and to a lesser extent also vegetables (radish, beans, carrots, tomatoes, onions) and potatoes. You have to import tea (for the traditional butter tea, a mixture of tea, butter and salt), sugar and rice. Large parts (a total of 57 million hectares) are used as pastures (in the north and west of the country by nomads who are increasingly being pushed to settle down), sheep and goats (wool production) and cattle are kept. This is for the nomads of the grunt ox (yak), for the sedentary population the Dzo (female Dzomo), a cross between yak and cattle. Tibet has large forest areas, the wood is mostly transported to the coastal area and mainly used for paper production. Sheep and goat husbandry (wool production) and cattle. This is for the nomads of the grunt ox (yak), for the sedentary population the Dzo (female Dzomo), a cross between yak and cattle. Tibet has large forest areas, the wood is mostly transported to the coastal area and mainly used for paper production. Sheep and goat husbandry (wool production) and cattle. This is for the nomads of the grunt ox (yak), for the sedentary population the Dzo (female Dzomo), a cross between yak and cattle. Tibet has large forest areas, the wood is mostly transported to the coastal area and mainly used for paper production.
The mineral resources have only been explored since the Chinese occupation; proven are inter alia. Deposits of borax, iron and magnesium ore, barite, arsenic, potash mica, gypsum, china clay and gold. The chrome ore mine is the largest in China. The large hydropower potential is hardly used, and there has only been a noteworthy power plant output since 1994. The manufacturing industry mainly includes textile, construction and light industry (especially the production of woolen fabrics, blankets, etc., leather processing), the food industry as well as metal and wood processing; also handicrafts of the Tibetans. The most important industrial and trading center is Lhasa. Before 1951, there were no roads or other transportation systems in Tibet. The road network has been expanded since China came to power. So z. B. 2001–05 the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (1,142 km from Golmud to Lhasa, mostly over 4,000 m above sea level). Airlines connect Lhasa with Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Canton, Chongqing and Kathmandu.
