There is a beautiful and mysterious place in the southwest of China — Tibet. Here we have the roof of the world — the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the world’s highest peak — Qomolangma, the world's largest and deepest canyon — the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the mountain lakes that tourists yearn to visit, the unique culture, art and folk customs, as well as the precious and strange plateau flora and fauna.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has an average elevation of over 4,000 meters, with a vast, flat plateau in the north and snow-capped mountains in the south.

Some people say that the Northern Tibetan Plain is a mysterious place because the temperature is very low throughout the year, the climate is bad, and the air is thin. It is called the “Forbidden Zone of Life”. But the natural landscape here is unique. Spotted lakes and a place of weeds and shrubs accompany the owners of the plateau 一 Tibetan antelope, waterfowl and other rare animals. The most famous lake in the northern Tibetan Plateau is the Namtso Lake. Legend says the Namtso Lake was originally a beautiful fairy, who fell in love with the tall mountains here and changed into a lake so they would no longer be separated. The Namtso Lake is known as one of the “Holy Lakes” in Tibet, and there is a temple in the center of the lake. The lake is quiet and clear, and home to waterfowl and other wildlife. It is the most vibrant place in the desolate northern Tibet area.

Southern Tibet is dominated by mountainous terrain, and the Himalayas are the tallest mountains in the world. Qomolangma is ihe main peak of the Himalayas. Like a tall pyramid standing on the border between China and Nepal, it is called the “Third Pole of the World”. It has always been a favorite destination for mountaineers. Since the success of the first human summit in Qomolangma on May 29, 1953, climbers from all over the world, including China, have left footprints on the top of Qomolangma.

From the high mountains snow and ice melt, and this runoff converses into the Yarlung Zangbo River, one of the highest rivers in China. The river bypasses the mountains on the edge of the Himalayas and suddenly turns south. The bend forms the deepest, longest and highest canyon in the world, the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon area is one of the most mysterious areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. There are no roads in the narrow and steep canyons. A place where humans can hardly enter, it is a paradise for all kinds of wild animals. The Yarlung Zangbo River flows eastward through the shoals and river valleys, stringing up important cities along the river.

There are many important cities in southern Tibet, of which Lhasa is the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region and the political, economic, cultural, religious and transportation center of Tibet. Lhasa is more than 3,500 meters above sea level. The air is thin, clean, and sunny. It is called “City of Sunlight". There are many places of interest and historic significance here, such as the Potala Palace and the Dazhao Temple. The Potala Palace is a tall and magnificent palace built on the mountains. The upper red wall and the lower white wall, plus the golden palace top, are brightly colored. There are a lot of precious cultural relics in the palace, and there are exquisite murals everywhere. In 1994, the Poiala Palace was listed as a world cultural heritage. The Dazhao Temple was built in the 7th century by Songtsan Gampo, king of Tibet. It is the representative of Tibetan religious architecture and is known as the holy place of Tibetan Buddhist worship.

On the west side of Lhasa is Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet. From early on, Shigatse was formed around its temple, so there was a saying that "The city is a temple and the temple is a city". Among the temples there, the Tashilhunpo Temple is the most famous one. Shigatse has developed rapidly and has become the largest grain warehouse in Tibet and an important agricultural production base in Tibet.

Cultural Notes

The Potala Palace

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Tubo King Songtsan Campo unified Tibet. When he courted the Tang Dynasty princess Wencheng and proposed to her, he built palaces on the mountains for her to live in. In the middle of the 9th century, the palace was destroyed by the civilian uprising until the reconstruction of the Potala Palace in 1645. Later, it was expanded several times before it became its current size.