Tibetan Empire

The old Tibetan Empire had three provinces — Ü-Tsang, Amdo and Kham. The names are still sometimes used, the three regions still have different dialects, and the Dalai Lama's Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala still claims all three as parts of Tibet. To a traveller, though, that claim is completely irrelevant; all three former provinces are firmly under Chinese control; see Imperial China and Chinese Revolutions for historic background.

Old Tibetan provinces

What is relevant for travellers is that access to China's Tibetan Autonomous Region is strictly controlled — foreigners need a permit to set foot there, and other restrictions may apply; see Tibet — but other parts of the former empire can be visited without those hassles, and some are still ethnically and culturally Tibetan. See Destinations below.

Tibet has only intermittently been fully independent since it was conquered by the Mongol Empire around 1250, though various rulers of China — Mongol, Ming, Qing, Nationalist, and Communist — have allowed autonomy in some areas. Large parts of the former empire have not actually been ruled by Tibet since the Qing Dynasty (Manchu rulers of China 1644-1912) expanded its borders into the area in the early 1700s.

This section describes the three provinces that existed under Tibetan rule. The Qing made major changes and both the Republic of China (1911-1949) and the People's Republic (1949-date) kept most of the Qing setup, so the current political and administrative boundaries are quite different from the old provinces.

Kham, 1908. Loads are 300 lb (135 kg) of tea per man

• What was once Ü-Tsang province plus a large chunk of Kham are now the Tibetan Autonomous Region or TAR. The Chinese name for the region, Xizang (西藏) is their rendering of the Tibetan name which we transliterate as Ü-Tsang. This is what the term "Tibet" typically refers to in current English usage, and the area that our main Tibet article covers. Its dialect is the subject of our Tibetan phrasebook, and is the one taught in schools as the standard version of the Tibetan language. During the period of de facto independence from 1911-1950, Ü-Tsang was the only area actually controlled by the Tibetan government.

• Kham was historically controlled by several tribes and small kingdoms (not all Tibetan) who fought each other often. Some places that are major tourist destinations today, such as Dali and Lijiang, were regional capitals in that era. Our article on the Yunnan tourist trail covers travel through parts of Kham, including those cities.

The governments of both China and Tibet tried for some centuries, and with considerable success, to control the area, but there were rebellions against both. The Qing put the eastern parts of Kham under the jurisdiction of the Chinese provinces Yunnan and Sichuan, and they still are.

In the 1950s, the western part of Kham was incorporated into the TAR. In the current administrative system, Kham has no role; all of its old territory is now part of other administrative divisions. However, the locals still call themselves Khampas and speak a somewhat different dialect of Tibetan.

• Amdo is a Tibetan term; the area is known as Kokonor in Mongolian and Qinghai in Chinese. Geographically, the area is part of the Tibetan Plateau with an average elevation over 3,000 m. Ethnically it is quite mixed; Tibetans were historically the largest group and Mongols second, but now it is just over 50% Han (ethnic Chinese). However, Han Chinese are mostly concentrated in a small area in the eastern part of the province, around the provincial capital Xining, while the rest of the province is sparsely populated and predominantly Tibetan.

The Qing established the province of Qinghai, roughly corresponding to historic Amdo, and it has been retained by later governments. Wikivoyage has an Amdo Tibetan phrasebook. The current Dalai Lama was born here in 1935.

None of the current boundaries correspond exactly with the older ones; the above is just a general guide.

Naturally, Tibetan is the main language spoken in most parts of the former empire, though Mandarin is also widely spoken these days because of decades of Chinese control. There are numerous dialects of Tibetan, not all of which are mutually intelligible, though the Lhasa dialect is regarded as the de facto standard and taught in Tibetan schools. Tibetan is co-official with Mandarin not only within the TAR, but also in other primarily ethnic Tibetan areas, meaning that you will see bilingual road signs.

For destinations within the TAR, see the Tibet article. Here we describe some that are culturally Tibetan but outside the TAR so they can be visited independently without any special permits, and without being limited to a guided tour.

• Mongol Empire