TIBET
The Tibet Autonomous Region, perched on the southwest Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is a southwestern frontier region in China. At an average altitude of 4,000 metres, Tibet is the world's largest and highest plateau known as the 'Roof of the World'. The world's largest canyon the Yalung Zangbo Canyou, is in Tibet. In the mid-7th century, Songtsen Gambo established the unified Tubo dynasty and befriended the Tang Dynasty by marrying Princess Wencheng in 641 AD. In the mid-13th century, Tibet was incorporated as an administrative region of the Yuan Dynasty. Peaceful liberation came in 1951, and serfdom was abolished during the Democratic Reform of 1959. The Tibet Autonomous Region was officially established in 1965.
Breathtaking is hardly an adequate word for Tibet's landscape, which consists of snow-capped mountains of astonishing heights, primitive forests, vast steppes, mighty rivers, the world's highest lakes, and exotic wildlife and plants. Tibetans, who make up upwards of 90 percent of the local population, are born singers and dancers with a splendid civilization. Buddhist art thrives, and among the region's 2,700 temples are such famous ones as the Potala Palace, the Norbulinka Palace, the Jokhang Temple, and the Tashilhunpo Monastery.
Climate: Lhasa, the "City of Sun," is nestled high in the Gyi Qu Valley and is blessed with seasonally mild and humid weather from monsoons in India 160 km(100 mi.) to the south. Tibetan winters, as might be supposed, are fiercely cold. But for half the year, strong sunlight warms the thin air, making most days in Lhasa comfortably mild and, owing to protective mountains, relatively windless. Summer temperatures hover above 30'C (high-80s F) and only to drop to a searing -23'C (-10'F) in midwinter. The best time to visit is from late spring to early fall.
Breathtaking is hardly an adequate word for Tibet's landscape, which consists of snow-capped mountains of astonishing heights, primitive forests, vast steppes, mighty rivers, the world's highest lakes, and exotic wildlife and plants. Tibetans, who make up upwards of 90 percent of the local population, are born singers and dancers with a splendid civilization. Buddhist art thrives, and among the region's 2,700 temples are such famous ones as the Potala Palace, the Norbulinka Palace, the Jokhang Temple, and the Tashilhunpo Monastery.
Climate: Lhasa, the "City of Sun," is nestled high in the Gyi Qu Valley and is blessed with seasonally mild and humid weather from monsoons in India 160 km(100 mi.) to the south. Tibetan winters, as might be supposed, are fiercely cold. But for half the year, strong sunlight warms the thin air, making most days in Lhasa comfortably mild and, owing to protective mountains, relatively windless. Summer temperatures hover above 30'C (high-80s F) and only to drop to a searing -23'C (-10'F) in midwinter. The best time to visit is from late spring to early fall.
Regions in Tibet
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LHASA
As the political, religious and economic heart of the Tibetan world, Lhasa finds its place on the north bank of Lhasa River with an altitude of 3658m (about 12000 feet). In Tibetan, Lhasa means "The land of the Buddha" or "Holy Place". The city has a long history of 1300 years with a population of 400,000.
Blessed with flat land and mild climate, Lhasa is free of frigid winters and unbearably hot...
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