Situated in southwest China, Tibet Autonomous Region is also called ¡°Zang¡± for short. The region covers 1.2 million squarekilometers and has apopulation of 262 million, which includes Tibetan, Han Monba, Naxi, Lhoba and Hui. The capital is Lhasa.

Being the main body of the Qing-hai-Tibet Plateau, Tibet at an average elevation of over 4,000 meters in reputed as ¡°the Roof of the World¡±. Loftly mountains ¨CTanggula in the north, the Hilalayas in the south, Hengduan in the east, Kunlun in the west and Nyainqentanglha and Gangdise in the center ¨Cform the unique topography of Tibet with their astonishing heights. The land of

snows is crisscrossed by rivers. The Yarlung Zangbo, the mightiest river of Tibet, cutting a foamy, ferocious 2,091 kilometers course eastward in the southern part of Tibetan Plateau, is regarded as ¡°the Cradle of Tibet¡± or ¡°the Mother River¡± by locals. Ensconced in tall mountains and scattered on the vast land are also 1,500 lakes with a total area of more than 24,000 square kilometers or one third of the total area of lakes in China.

Besides the spectacular sceneries, the long history and unique religious culture have bestowed Tibet colourful folklore and customs and numerous culture relics. Tibet possesses more than 2700 temples among which the Potola Palace, Jokhong Monastery and the Norbulinka are UNESCO - endorsed world culture heritage sites. Main tourist cities are Lhasa, Xigaze and Gyangze and so on.