Tibet Autonomous Region

The Australia-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of New South Wales

TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION（西藏自治區）

Tibet is shown in black.

Note that Chinese names are in MingLiU (Chinese Traditional) screen font. This may appear as question marks or other symbols if that font is not installed on your browser.

General Profile:

Population: 2,600,000

Regional Capital: Lhasa

Average temperatures: -18 degC to 4 deg C in January; 7 deg C to 19 deg C in July.

Physical features: Most of the region is a high plateau, known as the roof of the world. The vast Northern Tibet Plateau, which is part of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau（青藏高原） contains hills, basins, lakes and snow-capped peaks.

The southern valleys are Tibet's principal farming and pastoral lands. The region has long hours of sunshine and intense solar radiation. The average elevation is nearly 5,000 metres above sea level and the total land area of the region is 1,228,400 square kilometres.

Rivers: The Brahmaputra River winds it way through Tibet's southern valleys before flowing into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam states in India, then into Bangladesh and the Sea of Bengal. The Salween River (Nujiang) originates in the north-central part of the region and subsequently flows into Yunnan Province and Myanmar.

The Mekong River (Lanchang) begins in Qinghai Province and flows through the northeast corner of Tibet. Similarly, the upper part of the Yangtze River arises to the north and forms Tibet's eastern border.

Administrative divisions: 2 cities and 76 counties.

Historical Significance: Lamaism, a form of Buddhism, has traditionally been extremely important to the people of Tibet, and the all-pervasive monasteries once controlled much of the religious, economic, political, and educational life of Tibet. Tibet became part of China in 1950.

Tibet is the largest resident place in China for the Tibetan（藏族）which accounts for 96% of the region's population. Other groups are Han（漢）, Hui（回）, Mongolian（蒙古）, Monba（門巴）and Lhoba（珞巴）.

Natural Resources:

Mineral resources in the region include iron, coal, chromate, copper, borax, salt and medicinal herbs. The reserves of borax are the largest in China. Large oil fields were recently discovered in the central plateau area but have not yet been developed.

The region also has the largest forested areas in China.

Economic Profile:

	1999		2000
Economic Indicators	Value	Growth	Value	Growth
		(% p.a.)		(% p.a.)
Gross domestic product (RMB bn)	10.6*	9.6*	N/A	N/A
Per capita GDP (RMB)	4,262	N/A	N/A	N/A
Disposable income per capita
- urban (RMB)	6,908.7	N/A	7,426.3	7.5
- rural (RMB)	1,309.5	6.3	1,330.8	1.6
Fixed asset investment (RMB bn)	5.3	29.8	4.9	-7.5
Value added by sector
- primary (RMB bn)	3.4	N/A	--	--
- secondary (RMB bn)	2.4	N/A	--	--
- tertiary (RMB bn)	1.0	N/A	--	--
Retail sales (RMB bn)	3.5	8.3	4.3	13.2
Inflation (CPI, %)	0		-0.1
Exports (US$ bn)	0.08	166.7	0.1	37.5
- by FIEs (US$ bn)	--	--	0.004	--
Imports (US$ bn)	0.08	33.3	0.04	-50
- by FIEs (US$ bn)	0.01	0	0.002	-80
Foreign direct investment
- number of projects	--	--	--	--
- contracted amount (US$ bn)	--	--	--	--
- utilised amount (US$ bn)	--	--	--	--

Notes: *Estimated
Sources: China Statistical Abstract, 2001.

Infrastructure:

Railways – Tibet is the only province or region in China that does not have a railway. The construction of the Qingzang Railway （青藏鐵路）, specifically the section from Golmud to Lhasa, is in progress. This railway is one of the symbolic projects of the Great Western Development Strategy. The government is expecting to invest RMB13.7 billion on this railway’s construction alone.

Roadways -- Transport in Tibet mainly relies on highways and Lhasa is the pivot in the region. So far, Tibet has 22,000 kilometres of roadways. The region connects Sichuan, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Yunnan through Chuan-Tibet line（川藏線）, Qing-Tibet line（青藏線）, Xin-Tibet line（新藏線）and Dian-Tibet line（滇藏線）as well as the China-Nepal highway （中尼公路）which links up Lhasa to Katmandu in Nepal.

A new roadway that extends from Ping'an to Xining of Qinghai is under construction. The highway is a portion of Lanzhou-Xining expressway with average altitude over 2,000 meters.

Air Transport -- The Gonggar Airport（貢嘎機場）and Bangda Airport（邦達機場）provide more than 25 domestic and international air routes to Chengdu, Chongqing, Beijing, Xi'an, Qinghai, Katmandu in Nepal, etc. A new air route to Shanghai has been in operation since April 2000 and it takes approximately 4 hours from Lhasa to Shanghai with a stopover in Xi'an.

Telecommunications -- In 2000, there were 4.7 telephones per 100 persons. In May 2001, the Lhasa – Ali (拉萨 -阿里) optic cable was constructed. Every region of Tibet is now accessible by phone. Mobile phones services are available in various Tibet cities such as Lhasa, Xigaze, Ningchi, Qamdo, Naqu and Ali（阿里）.

Electricity Supply -- The Yangbajing（羊八井） Station is the largest geothermal power plant in the country and has an installed capacity of 25,000 kWh. Because of its altitude, the region also has the potential for both solar and hydropower. Currently there are over 20 small and medium size solar power plants in a number of counties. Other projects underway include the Yamzhog Yumco Lake Hydro-Electric Power Station and the Chaglung （查龍） Power Station, which have total installed capacity of 112,500 kWh and 10,800 kWh respectively. The expansion of the Yangbajing Geothermal Power Station provides an additional capacity of 50,000 kWh.

Agriculture:

Agriculture supports a large percentage of the population, for which a significant amount consists of subsistence agriculture. Products include: wheat, highland barley, buckwheat.

Industry:

In 2000, Tibet's industrial output reached Rmb1.8 (+10%) billion and its industries are mainly located at Lhasa, Ningchi, Shannan and Xigaze.

Tibet has more than 500 industrial enterprises, which mainly engaged in foodstuffs, energy, timber processing, mineral, textiles and light industries. The region has established its own brand including mineral water（西藏礦泉水）, Lhasa Beers, Chinese and Tibetan medicinal herbs, carpets and other similar items.

Science and Technology:

Tibet’s high altitude makes it a research centre in certain areas. Recently, an international research laboratory on cosmic radiation opened at Yangbajain（羊八井）, which is about 80 kilometres northwest of Lhasa. Yangbajiang also has China’s research centre on geothermal energy.

The rediscovery of Tibetan traditional medicines also led to several medical breakthroughs and stimulated further research and development in the region.

Consumers’ Market:

In 2000, retail sales totalled US$4.3 billion. Lhasa is the largest consumer centre in Tibet, accounting for 54 per cent of the total retail sales. The second largest centre is Xigaze, accounting for about 15 per cent of the total sales. In end-1999, Lhasa Department Store（拉薩百貨大樓）, the largest shopping centre in Tibet, was opened. The new shopping centre is around 12,000 square metres and sells approximately 20,000 kinds of commodities.

Other major shopping centers include: Lhasa Renyi Integrated Market （拉薩仁益綜合商場）, Saikang Business Centre（塞康商业中心）.

Key Cities in Tibet Autonomous Region:

There are two industrial regions in Tibet, one consisting of cities along the Salween or Mekong rivers in the north-central part of the region, and the other consisting of cities along the Brahmaputra River in the southern part of the region.

Southern industrial zone – along the Brahmaputra River:

Ø Lhasa

Ø Xigaze

Ø Ningchi and

North-central industrial zone – along the Salween or Mekong rivers.

Ø Qamdo and

Ø Nagqu

Lhasa 拉薩:

1999 data:

Population	GDP	Retail Sales
('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
397.9 (+0.5%)	3.3 (+15.0%)	1842.7 (-3.0%)

Lhasa lies in a plateau and is about 200 kilometres from the border with Bhutan. It has long been the capital of Tibet and remains the cultural centre. Income per capita is surprisingly high, due mainly to the high wage rates that are needed to attract migrants into the region.

Substantial fiscal transfers to the region are made by the central government.

Xigaze 日喀則:

1999 data:

Population	GDP	Retail Sales
('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
629.7 (+0.9%)	1.5 (-15.8%)	662.2 (+24.7%)

Xigaze is about 250 kilometres directly west of Lhasa, along the Brahmaputra River which it shares with Lhasa.

Qamdo 昌都:

1999 data:

Population	GDP	Retail Sales
('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
557 (+1.1%)	1.5 (+12.1%)	320.2 (-2.4%)

Qamdo is situated along the Mekong River and is about 650 kilometres northeast of Lhasa.

Nagqu 那曲:

1999 data:

Population	GDP	Retail Sales
('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
356.5 (+1.9%)	0.9 (+28.8%)	460.6 (+48.4%)

Nagqu is only 250 kilometres northwest of Lhasa, but is classified as being part of the north-central region since it lies along the Salween River.

Shannan 山南:

1999 data:

Population	GDP	Retail Sales
('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
316 (+0.6%)	0.7 (+16.1%)	254.7 (+15.6%)

No additional information is available about Shannan.

Ningchi 林芝:

1999 data:

Population	GDP	Retail Sales
('000)	(RMB bn)	(RMB bn)
147.1 (+0.8%)	0.9 (+15.5%)	148.5 (+23.6%)

Ningchi is about 350 kilometres directly east of Lhasa, near the portion of the Brahmaputra River that bends southward toward India.

Information Sources:

Information contained in this page was obtained from:

Hong Kong Trade Development Council (http://www.tdctrade.com)

Additional Information:

We are in the process of maintaining regular contact with organisations in the cities listed. Please contact us if you require additional information about Tibet Autonomous Region or any of the cities listed.

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