Tibet, a rich and beautiful land, is located at the main part of Qinghai-Tibet plateau, a mystic, mysterious land of ancient Buddhist culture, awesome landscapes, artistic monasteries; Tibet is a destination out of the ordinary. Also known as the Roof of the World, the high-altitude Tibet Autonomous Region of China lies on a plateau at an average elevation of 4,000 m. It is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the north and Himalaya to the south.

Geographically, Tibet can be divided into three major parts, the east, north and south. The eastern part is forest region, occupying approximately one-fourth of the land. Virgin forests run the entire breadth and length of this part of Tibet. The northern part is open grassland, where nomads and yak and sheep dwell here. This part occupies approximately half of Tibet. The southern and central part is agricultural region, occupying about one-fourth of Tibet's land area. With all major Tibetan cities and towns such as Lhasa, Shigatse, Gyantse ad Tsetang located in this area, it is considered the cultural center of Tibet. The total area of the Tibet Autonomous Region is 1,200,000 square kilometers and its population is 1,890,000. The region is administratively divided into one municipality and six prefectures. The municipality is Lhasa, while the six prefectures are Shigatse, Ngari, Lhokha, Chamdo, Nakchu and Nyingchi (Kongpo). The People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region exercises the highest administrative authority in Tibet.

Tibetan history can be traced thousands of years back. However, the written history only dates back to the 7th century when Songtsan Gampo, the 33rd Tibetan king, sent his minister Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit who on his return invented the present Tibetan script based on Sanskrit.

Tibet's history can be divided into four periods The Tsanpo Period starts from Nyatri Tsanpo, the first of the Tsanpos, in 127 B.C and ends in 842 A.D. at the death of Lang Dharma, the last of the Tsanpos, who was assassinated by a Buddhist monk owing to Lang Dharma's ruthless persecution of Buddhism. During this period some 42 Tsanpos had ruled over Tibet among which Songtsan Gampo's rule was considered as the zenith. Songtsan Gampo was an outstanding ruler, he unified Tibet, changed his capital to Lhasa, sent Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit and promulgated a script for the Tibetan on the latter's arrival to Tibet, married Princess Wencheng of the tang Court and Princess Bhrikuti Devi of Nepal, built the Potala and Jokhang.

The period of Decentralization This period began in 842 A.D. the year of Lang Dharma's assassination, and ended in about 1260 A.D, when Pagpa, the Abbod of Sakya monastery, became a vassal of Kublai Khan, the first Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. During this period a little is known in history except that Tibet became decentralized into a number of petty principalities.

The period of Sakya, Pagdu, and Karmapa's Rule This period began with Sakya's rule over Tibet, followed first by Pagdu's rule in Lhokha and then by Karmara's rule in the Tsang region (Shigatse). The sakya period was the time when Tibet officially became an inseparable part of China. This period lasted from 1260 A.D to 1642 A.D during which political powers centered in the three regions of Sakya, Pagdu, and Tsang successively ruled over Tibet.

The period of the Gandan Podrang administration is the period in which the Dalai Lama ruled Tibet. It started in 1642 A.D. when the 5th Dalai Lama overtook the ruling power from the Tsang ruler. It basically ended in 1951 when Tibet was liberated and came to a complete end in 1959 when rebellion led by the Dalai Lama was pacified and the People's Government of the Tibet, Autonomous Region was set up.