Tibet, or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about 2,500,000 km2 (970,000 sq mi). It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups such as Mongols, Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa, Lhoba, and since the 20th century Han Chinese and Hui. After the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China in 1951, the entire plateau has been under the administration of the People's Republic of China. Tibet is divided administratively into the Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of the Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. Tibet is also constitutionally claimed by the Republic of China as the Tibet Area since 1912. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,380 m (14,000 ft). Located in the Himalayas, the highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848 m (29,000 ft) above sea level.
The yak, also known as the Tartary ox, grunting ox, hairy cattle, or domestic yak, is a species of long-haired domesticated cattle found throughout the Himalayan region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Nepal, Sikkim (India), the Tibetan Plateau (China), Tajikistan and as far north as Mongolia and Siberia. It is descended from the wild yak.
The Tibetan people are an East Asian ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6.7 million. In addition to the majority living in Tibet Autonomous Region of China, significant numbers of Tibetans live in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan, as well as in India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
Chinese tea culture includes all facets of tea found in Chinese culture throughout history. Physically, it consists of tea cultivation, brewing, serving, consumption, arts, and ceremonial aspects. Tea culture is an integral part of traditional Chinese material culture and spiritual culture. Tea culture emerged in the Tang dynasty, and flourished in the succeeding eras as a major cultural practice and as a major export good.
The Monpa (Tibetan: མོན་པ་, Wylie: mon pa, THL: mön pa are a major people of Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India and one of the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups in China. Most Monpas live in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of 50,000, centered in the districts of Tawang and West Kameng. As of 2020 there were 11,143 Monpa people living in Le/ Lebo/ Lebugou/ Lebugou township of Cona/ Tsona Tsona City in the southern Tibet Autonomous Region, where they are known as Menba. Of the 45,000 Monpas who live in Arunachal Pradesh, about 20,000 of them live in Tawang district, where they constitute about 97% of the district's population, and almost all of the remainder can be found in the West Kameng district, where they form about 77% of the district's population. A small number of them may be found in bordering areas of East Kameng and Bhutan.
Tsampa or Tsamba is a Tibetan and Himalayan staple foodstuff, it is also prominent in parts of northern Nepal. It is a glutinous meal made from roasted flour, usually barley flour and sometimes also wheat flour and flour prepared from tree peony seeds. It is usually mixed with the Tibetan butter tea. It is also eaten in Turkestan and Mongolia, where it is known as zamba.
Losar also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various dates depending on location tradition. The holiday is a new year's festival, celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar, which corresponds to a date in February or March in the Gregorian calendar. In 2024, the new year commenced on 10 February and celebrations ran until the 12th of the same month. It also commenced the Year of the Male Wood Dragon.
Tea culture is how tea is made and consumed, how people interact with tea, and the aesthetics surrounding tea drinking.
Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct local influences, and stimulated the development of its distinct culture.
Compressed tea, called tea bricks, tea cakes or tea lumps, and tea nuggets according to the shape and size, are blocks of whole or finely ground black tea, green tea, or post-fermented tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form. This was the most commonly produced and used form of tea in ancient China prior to the Ming Dynasty. Although tea bricks are less commonly produced in modern times, many post-fermented teas, such as pu-erh, are still commonly found in bricks, discs, and other pressed forms. Tea bricks can be made into beverages like tea or eaten as food, and were also used in the past as a form of currency.
Rongbuk Monastery, also known as Dzarongpu or Dzarong, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Nyingma sect in Basum Township, Dingri County, in Shigatse Prefecture of Tibet.
Tibetan cuisine includes the culinary traditions and practices of the Tibetan people in the Tibet region. The cuisine reflects the Tibetan landscape of mountains and plateaus and includes influences from neighbors. It is known for its use of noodles, goat, yak, mutton, dumplings, cheese, butter, yogurt, and soups. Vegetarianism has been debated by religious practitioners since the 11th century but is not prevalent due to the difficulty of growing vegetables, and cultural traditions promoting consumption of meat.
This is a list of topics related to Tibet.
Kumbum Monastery, also called Ta'er Temple, is a Tibetan gompa in Lusar, Huangzhong County, Xining, Qinghai, China. It was founded in 1583 in a narrow valley close to the village of Lusar in the historical Tibetan region of Amdo. Its superior monastery is Drepung Monastery, immediately to the west of Lhasa. It is ranked in importance as second only to Lhasa.
Tromzikhang is a historic building in Barkhor, Lhasa in Tibet, China. It is located northwest of Jokhang temple at the corner of the left side of Barkhor Tromshung Jang (street). It was demolished in the 1990s except for the magnificent facade. Today Tromzikhang is a notable market in Lhasa and a housing complex.
Yak butter is butter made from the milk of the domestic yak. Many herder communities in China, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan and Tibet produce and consume dairy products made from yak's milk, including butter. Whole yak's milk has about twice the fat content of whole cow's milk, producing a butter with a texture closer to cheese. It is a staple food product and trade item for herder communities in south Central Asia and the Tibetan Plateau.
Guthuk is a stew soup in Sherpa or Tibetan cuisine, made with various ingredients like beans, vegetables, meat, or left over harvested grains. It is eaten two days before Losar, the Bot or Tibetan New Year and is a variation on thukpa bhatuk. The Tibetan religious ceremony Gutor (དགུ་གཏོར), literally meaning 'offering of the 29th', is held on the 29th of the 12th Bot or Tibetan month, and is focused on driving out all negativity, including evil spirits and misfortunes of the past year, and starting the new year in a peaceful and auspicious way. It is made with barley and other ingredients.
Thukpa bhatuk is a common Tibetan cuisine noodle soup that includes small bhatsa noodles. This dish is a common soup made in the winter but is especially important for Tibetan New Year. On Nyi-Shu-Gu, the eve of Losar, the common Tibetan soup, thukpa bhatuk is made with special ingredients to form guthuk. Guthuk is then eaten on Losar to symbolise getting rid of negativities of the past year and invite positives into the new year.
