Alex McKAY

A Tibetan girl in traditional dress stands in a courtyard with intricately painted pillars.
Tibet—“the Roof of the World”—is one of China’s five autonomous regions. A distinction is made between “political” Tibet, the area governed by the Lhasa government before 1950, and “ethnic” or “cultural” Tibet, the area inhabited by mainly Buddhist people of Tibetan origin. Tibet has been the focus of international attention because of calls for increased autonomy or