Tibet Autonomous Region Travel Guide

By Sara Naumann. China Travel Expert

Sara Naumann is currently an eleven-year (eleven years!) resident in Shanghai. She has spent over 15 years in Asia, first in Japan and now in China. Born to American parents working at the American School in Japan, Sara even spent her formative years in Tokyo before the whole family moved to Chestnut, IL (geographical center of the state!) to the family farm. Her experiences have given her a mixed palate and appreciation for the best that all of these places have to offer: sparkling delicious koshihikari rice from Niigata, Japan, the tastiest dumplings in all of China and the juiciest sweet corn east of the Mississippi.

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Introduction

History

Without getting too deep into the very important and interesting history of the region, that my colleagues in Asian History. Buddhism and Chinese Culture do well, it is worth reading my brief article on Greater Tibet and visiting the Tibetan regions that are outside the Chinese-drawn borders of the TAR.

Location

The northern tip of India borders Tibet s western side and Nepal. Bhutan and Myanmar snuggle up to its southern border. To the northeast lies Qinghai Province and to the east lie Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.

The Tibetan plateau averages about 4,000m (12,000 feet) above sea level. Some of the world s highest mountains surround Tibet: the Himalayas to the south, the Karakoram in the west and the Kunlun in the north. Over 1,500 lakes are scattered throughout Tibet and the mountain waters give way to several major river systems in Asia: the Brahmaputra (Yarlung Tsangpo ), the Indus and the Mekong (Lancang Jiang ).