China torch relay: Lhasa

By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing

Lhasa holds a romantic attraction for many in the West

The Himalayan region of Tibet is one of the most beautiful and remote places on earth - and also one of the most controversial.

With limited contact with the outside world for centuries, Tibetans have developed their own distinct language and culture.

This has attracted adventurers, traders, colonists and tourists, who have sought to profit, control or simply enjoy Tibet.

The region has also been beset by political problems. As the recent unrest in the capital, Lhasa, and other regions shows, these problems continue today.

Tibet is now part of China, but many Tibetans dispute Beijing's claim to the region and want autonomy.

China says Tibet has officially been part of the Chinese nation since the mid-13th Century, but advocates of Tibetan autonomy say the Himalayan region was an independent kingdom for many centuries, and that Chinese rule over Tibet has not been constant.

Traditional industry

Tibet is a vast land that contains high, snow-capped mountains, arid plains and the occasional lush valley.

Many people in Tibet still live a traditional lifestyle

The region is sparsely populated - only about three million people live in the area China calls the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

A similar number of Tibetans live outside this administrative region, in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan.

There is little industry in Tibet: many people are still involved in agriculture, particularly raising livestock, such as the yak.

But China has poured millions of dollars into developing the region over recent years, promoting Tibet as a tourist and business destination.

In the summer of 2006, as one part of that plan, a railway was completed linking Lhasa with the rest of China .

CHINA RELAY CITIES IN FOCUS Use the map to see the full Olympic torch relay route or read about some of the key cities: Full route map, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Jinggangshan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Huangshan, Three Gorges, Kaili, Lhasa, Urumqi, Xian, Yanji, Weihai, Qufu, Anyang, Beijing.

In many ways, the railway is making life easier for those who live in the region: goods can now be transported into Tibet more quickly.

Trains will also allow the development of Tibet's vast mineral reserves, many of which are located along the railway line.

But the new train link has also brought criticism. Tibet's government-in-exile believes it is bringing in too many Han Chinese people.

The fear is that these Han people - China's dominant ethnic group - will soon outnumber Tibetans, threatening the local culture.

Unrest

This year's violence in Tibetan areas has brought into sharp focus the differing views about Tibet's past, present and future.

Beijing has invested heavily in developing the region

In Lhasa, these turned into riots that mainly targeted ethnic Han Chinese.

Protests spread to other areas, but they were quickly put down. China has now established tight security over all Tibetan areas.

There appears little common ground between the Chinese and Tibet's government-in-exile, based in Dharamsala, India.

Tibet's history, its borders and the current situation are just a few disputed topics.

The two sides are currently engaged in low-level talks, but these have been rumbling on for several years without any notable progress.

It is difficult to know what Tibetans in Tibet think about the current situation - Beijing does not grant them complete freedom to express themselves.

But the demonstrations suggest there is, at the very least, unhappiness with the way Beijing administers this vast region.

Tibet has its own distinct culture and traditions

Beijing blames Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for fomenting unrest in Tibet in a bid to establish an independent country.

That is a charge he fervently denies but, with much ground between the two sides, Tibet's problems will certainly continue.

The torch arrives in Lhasa on 20-21 June.

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