Tibet, a rich and beautiful land , is located at the main section of the QinghaiTibet Plateau, southwest frontier of China. About 100 million years ago, this place used to be a surging sea, with continuous collisions between the Indian Continent and the Eurasian Continent; this place was then gradually transformed into today's "world roof." The mountains in Tibet mainly include Mount Kunlun , Mount Tanggula Mount Nianqing Tangula, Mount Gangdisi and Mount Everest (Mount Qomolangma known to the West as Mount Everest 8,848.13 metres high or 29,030.7 feet high) . Rivers within Tibet include the Yarlung Tsangbo River (the total length of the river being 2,900 kilometres, of which 1,787 kilometres within the boundaries of the Chinese territory, average elevation of the riverbed being over 3,000 metres), Jinsha River (a total length of 2,308 kilometres, the deepest valley being over 3,000 metres, one of the deepest valleys in the world, Nujiang River (the total length of the river being 3,200 kilometres, of which 1,540 kilometres within the boundaries of the Chinese territory), and Lancang River (the total length of the river being 4,500 kilometres, of which 1,612 kilometres within the boundaries of the Chinese territory). There are many lakes, the biggest one being Lake Namtso or Heavenly Lake in Tibetan (encompassing 1,940 square kilometres or 748.84 square miles) with an altitude of 4,718 metres. Most of Tibetan area belongs to plateau climate.

Pandita Saskya (1182-1251) was the fourth among five ancestors of the Saskya sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1247, he represented the rulers of Tibet in negotiations with the Yuan court and agreed to accept the Yuan rule. Following the Yuan Dynasty, both Ming and Qing dynasties sent officials to Tibet to supervise local affairs .

Great changes have taken place in Tibet over the past 50-odd years since the peaceful liberation in 1951. There was no industry in Tibet before the peaceful liberation. Over the past five decades Tibet has developed a modern industrial system, which covers power, light industry, textiles, petro-chemicals, machinery, forestry, building materials and ethnic handicraft industries. The region now has nearly 500 industrial enterprises. Before the peaceful liberation, there was only a small power station with a capacity of 125 kilowatts in Tibet, which supplied electricity only to the upper class. Following the peaceful liberation, the region has developed power generation by hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar energy.

There were no highways in Tibet before 1951, but today a road transportation network has taken shape and the region totals over 43,000 kilometres open to traffic. More than 80 per cent of the regions' townships have access to highways. Air service has linked the region with Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Shanghai, Kunming and other domestic and international cities, adding that remarkable progress has also been made in the telecommunications sector.

Shannan area is acclaimed as the "Small Southern China " for its mild weather and abundant agricultural products. Its animal husbandry plays an important role in Tibet, which is one of China's major pasturelands. Local produce in Southeast Tibet includes various kinds of precious medicinal herbs such as the bulb of fritillary (fritillaria thunbergii) , and Chinese caterpillar fungus or cordyceps sineensis short for .

In Tibetan, Lhasa means "the Land of Gods" or "Holy Place," and it is also called "the Sunshine City." Tibet has won the name of 'the Ocean of Songs and Dances.' The ethnic peoples living here are simple minded, they like to sing and dance unrestrainedly. Besides the Tibetan New Year, other lively festivals include the Shoton Festival and the Harvest Festival . The Potala Palace is a treasure source of fine arts. Gandan Temple , Sera Temple and Drepung Monastery are the three big lamaseries of the Yellow Sect of Buddhism. The main peak of Mount Gangdisi and the Lake Manasarova are Buddhists' "holy mountain" and "holy lake. " The world's highest and perennially snow-capped peak-Qomolangma, is .an objective pursued by many mountain-climbing favourites from all over the world. A centre has been built in the core area of the nature reserve on the world's highest mountain, Qomolangma. Catering to tourists, the centre was completed by the end of 2002 and has an emergency room, oxygen room and provisions room, plus 16 hotel-style rooms. Meanwhile, a real-time environmental monitoring centre and a mini-museum in the area has been built. The building complex, covering 1,050 square metres, is 8 kilometres from the mountain's summit.

China is a unified multi-national country. As a member of the big family of the Chinese nation, the Tibetan people have created and developed their brilliant and distinctive culture during a long history of continuous exchanges and contacts with other ethnic groups. Tibet is situated at 26'50' to 36'53' north latitude and 78'25' to 99'06' east longitude. Its average sea level is over 4,000 metres. There are more than 50 mountains with an elevation of 7,000 metres, of which 11 mountains being 8,000 metres. The climate in Tibet is cold, low air pressure, and thin air, and Tibet is reputed as the "Roof of the World. "

Tibet shares borders with Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Myanmar. Tourism is one area that provides an immediate indicator of change and progress. Tourism has developed rapidly in Tibet. In 2003, Tibet received 928 , 600 tourists from both home and abroad, and the total income from tourism made up 5.6 per cent of the GDP in Tibet.

With an altitude of 3,700 metres, Lhasa has a history of over 1 ,300 years.

Sunlight time reaches more than 3,000 hours, and Lhasa is also known as the "Sunlight City. "

Xigaze, a famous historical and cultural city, has a history of 500 years. Its altitude is 3,800 metres.

Tibetan temples mean Buddhist temples in Tibet. Since Buddhism in Tibet is popularly known as Lamaism, Tibetan monasteries are also known as lamaseries. Famous monasteries in Tibet include Potala Palace, Jokhang Monastery , Sera Temple , Gandan Monastery , Drepung Monastery, (Lhasa), Tashilumpo Monastery , (Xigaze), Shajia Monastery , and Baiju Monastery .

The structure of Tibetan monasteries has distinctive characteristics of the Tibetan nationality, magnificent and novel in style. Different sects of Buddhism have t?eir own special features in architecture, which vividly reflect the development and vicissitudes of Buddhism in Tibet. In the 7'h century, the Esoteric Buddhism introduced from India, the Mahayana Buddhism introduced from places where the Han people lived and the Bon religion, which originally existed in Tibet, combined to form the Buddhism of Tibet. The Tibetan Buddhism especially emphasizes Esoteric Buddhism, sincerely believes in the inexorable fate of the universe, the inconstancy of everything, retribution for sin, transmigration of souls, practice of Buddhism conduct and liberation from worldly cares, etc. In its religious activities, importance is attached to chanting incantations, offering sacrifices to god, etc. Eminent monks are called "Lama," being an honourable title. In the 7 th century, Songtsan Gampo (617?-650 ), King of Tubo, believed in Buddhism, founded the Tibetan language, built temples and translated scriptures. All these forcefully promoted the forming of Tibetan Buddhism, which gradually prevailed over the original Bon religion and became dominating. However, in the middle of 9 th century, King Langdema encouraged Bon religion and wiped out Buddhism, dealing a crushing blow to Buddhism.

After more than 100 years, Buddhism revived in Tibet. In order to gain a firm foothold and win more believers, Buddhism at that time attached importance to absorbing national features of Tibetan area. Owing to the difference in the practice of Buddhist conducts and in the system of inheritance in the 11 th century, Tibetan Buddhism developed into four main sects: Red Sect, Flowery Sect, White Sect, and Yellow Sect. Every sect had its tight temple organization and system of studying scriptures. In the later part of the 13 th century, propped up by the Yuan Dynasty, the lamas of upper level began to exercise the control over the local political power of Tibet and the unification of political and religious affairs. In the beginning of the 15 th century, under the leadership of Tsong Kha-pa (1357-1419) the Yellow Sect carried out reform. This sect gradually gained power and later with the support of the Qing Dynasty, controlled the power in political and religious affairs of Tibet. The Yellow Sect practised the system of successive incarnations of two great living Buddhas. One is Dalai Lama, and the other is Panchen. The present Panchen is the 11 th in a series. Tibetan Buddhism has also spread to Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia and the places such as Bhutan and Nepal. Tibetan Buddhism has had very important influence on the history, culture, and economic development of Tibet. The Tibetan temples should not only be places for religious activities, but also important places to understand Tibetan Buddhism as well as the culture and history of the Tibetan nationality.

Old Castle Turned into a Tourist Resort

China has turned Zongshan Castle, a former battleground where Tibetan residents fought British troops in early 20 th century, into a tourist resort. The castle lies in Gyangze, one of the four major cities in Tibet, and was the site of major battles between local people and the invading British army. Crowns of visitors now climb to the mountaintop and have their photographs taken in front of cannons and the castle's crumbing walls. In the winter of 1903, a British force of 3,000 troops set out from India for a second round attacks on Tibet. Local soldiers and militiamen met them. The British troop, equipped with machine guns and cannons, opened fire on some 1,000 local soldiers armed mostly with knives, firelocks and pikes. The fighting turned so fierce that local lamas volunteered for service. In the end, those soldiers who did not die in battle jumped off a cliff. The Gyangze Memorial Museum now exhibits some of the firelocks and pikes used by the Tibetan soldiers as well as British shells and bullets. The museum's most impressive item on display is a cannon, presented by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, which was used in the battle against the British. The Chinese characters engraved on the cannon are still clearly visible.

Sakya Monastery

Built in 1073, the Sakya Monastery, located 450 kilometres west of Lhasa, has long enjoyed nearly the same fame as the Dunhuang Grottoes for its large collection of Buddhist scriptures, valuable porcelain and vivid wall paintings dating back nearly one thousand years. The most valuable objects in the collection are ancient vases presented by emperors of different periods of the Yuan Dynasty to the leader of the Sakya sect. Other valuables include a jade bowl, a gold-plated Buddha, imperial shoes and a gold seal. Other exhibits. on display at the Tibet Museum to mark the 50 th anniversary of Tibet's peaceful liberation, show that the Yuan Dynasty divided Tibet into three military areas

with 15 districts. The museum contains letters of appointments of Tibetan officials by the Ming emperors and the certificates and seals of emperors of the

Qing Dynasty used in appointing Dalai and Panchen lamas. It also has a picture showing the ceremony of the 14 th Dalai Lama ascending the holy throne, presided over by Kuomintang government officials, as well as documents on

the peaceful liberation of Tibet signed by the central government and the government of Tibet. An imposing array of valuable cultural relics on display at

the Sakya Monastery in Lhasa prove that Tibet became part of China in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and has remained under the administration of the central government of China since that time .