- Tibet - Tibet Urban population: 250,000
Nationalities: Tibetan (1.97 million), Han, Moinba, Lhoba, and Hui
Area: 1,200,000 square kilometers
Altitude: over 4,000 meters on the whole; 8,848 meters at the peak of Qomolangma (Mount Everest).
Climatic features: Highland climate, with lower temperatures and less precipitation than most of China; thin atmosphere; long hours of sunshine; intense solar radiation.
Average temperature: -18 - 3.6 C in January, 7 - 19 C. in July.
Annual Average Rainfall: 60 - 1,000 mm; high precipitation in the east and south and low in the north; 90 percent of the rain falls from June to September.
Physical features: Almost the whole region is a plateau, known as the roof of the world; a small area in the southeast descends to the Brahmaputra River Valley; north of the Gangdise Range and south of the Kunlun Range is the vast Northern Tibet Plateau with hills, basins, lakes, and snow-covered peaks; the southern valleys between the Gangdise and the Himalayas are Tibet's principal farming and pastoral lands; in the east is a region of parallel mountains and valleys, which are the northern half of the Hengduan Mountains.
Mountains: The Himalayas in southern Tibet have an average elevation of 6,000 meters; in the north are the Kunlun and Tanggula Ranges; in the central southwest lies the Gangdise Range; the Hengduan Mountains are to the immediate east of the Nyainqentanglha Range.
Rivers: The Yarlung Zangbo River, which is the upper reach of the Brahmaputra River, winds its way through Tibet's southern valleys; the Nujiang, Lancang, and Jinsha Rivers, which are respectively the upper reaches of the Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze Rivers, cut through the Hengduan Mountains and enter Yunnan Province.
Lakes: Tibet has over 1,000 lakes, with the Nam Co (1,920 square kilometers) being the second largest salt lake in China; other major lakes are the Siling Co, Gyaring Co, Ngangze Co, Tangra Yumco, and Yamzho Yumco
Products: Wheat, highland barley, buckwheat; iron, coal, chromite, copper, borax, salt; medicinal herbs.
Administrative divisions: 2 cities and 76 counties
Capital: Lhasa
Neighboring Areas: Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces; Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Neighboring Countries: India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Burma
Major Cities: Lhasa, Xigaze, Gyangze, Qamdo, Nyingchi, Gar, Nyalam.
Tourist Attractions: Potala Palace in Lhasa
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