Regions & prefectures
ChinaRegions & prefectures
Tibet
The highest plateau on earth, averaging four thousand metres, and the Potala Palace.
- Capital
- Lhasa
- Status
- Autonomous region
- Region
- Southwest China
- Must-see
- The Potala Palace in Lhasa
- Local specialty
- Butter tea, tsampa, momos
The Tibetan plateau, formed by the collision of the Indian plate with Asia, supplies water to half of humanity through the rivers that flow off it. Buddhism arrived in the seventh century and founded a monastic civilisation of which the Potala, winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, remains the symbol. The Qinghai-Tibet railway, opened in 2006, crosses a pass at 5,072 metres and transformed access to the region.
What to see there
Places, dishes and traditions tied to this territory.
In the magazine
Articles that cover this topic.