Tibet

Tibet is a region of Central Asia and the home of the Tibetan people. In the People's Republic of China, the majority of Tibet is in Tibetan Autonomous Region (Xizang). See also Government of Tibet in Exile.

Other names:

Thibet in older spelling
བོད་ in Tibetan (Pö or Bod in Latin transliteration)
西藏 in Chinese (Xīzàng in Pinyin)
Tübed in Mongolian

History

Main article: History of Tibet

Map Of Tibet

Geography

Main article: Geography of Tibet

Flag of Tibet

File:Tibetflag2.PNG

Tibet consists of several regions:

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

(See also Provinces of China)

In the wide sense, Tibet also includes Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh.

Several majors rivers have their source in Tibet, including:

Transport

See Transportation in China.

Culture

The Tibetan people speak Tibetan language and write the Tibetan written language.

Tibet is the traditional center of Vajrayana, a distinctive form of Buddhism. Before 1959, Tibet was a theocracy led by the Dalai Lama, who now lives in exile and is internationally seen by many people as being a spokesman for the Tibetan people.

Tibet is also home for spiritual tradition called Bön (alternative spelling: Bon).