Tibet Autonomous Region

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), also called Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibetan: ; Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs; simplified Chinese: 西藏自治区; traditional Chinese: 西藏自治區; pinyin: Xīzàng Zìzhìqū, literally: "western depository" derived from the Chinese name for Ü-Tsang (simplified Chinese: 卫藏; traditional Chinese: 衛藏; pinyin: Wèizàng)), is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Within the People's Republic of Ch... more

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), also called Xizang Autonomous Region (Tibetan: ; Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs; simplified Chinese: 西藏自治区; traditional Chinese: 西藏自治區; pinyin: Xīzàng Zìzhìqū, literally: "western depository" derived from the Chinese name for Ü-Tsang (simplified Chinese: 卫藏; traditional Chinese: 衛藏; pinyin: Wèizàng)), is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Within the People's Republic of China, Tibet is identified with the Autonomous Region, which includes about half of cultural Tibet, including the traditional provinces of Ü-Tsang and Kham (western half). Its borders coincide roughly with the actual zone of control of the government of Tibet before 1959. The Tibet Autonomous Region is the second-largest province-level division of China by area (spanning over 470,000 sq mi/1,200,000 km) after Xinjiang. Unlike other autonomous regions, the vast majority of inhabitants are of the local ethnicity. As a result, there is debate... less