Facts about Tibet Tibet lies at the centre of Asia, with an area
of 2.5 million square kilometres (approximately 1 million square
miles). Despite over 50 years of Chinese occupation of Tibet,
the Tibetan people refuse to be conquered and subjugated by
China. The Tibetan Plateau is the highest and biggest plateau in
the world, so Tibet is referred to as “the roof of the world”.
For Tibetans, the term Tibet means the 3 provinces of U'Tsang,
Kham and Amdo, the area traditionally known as Tibet before
China's invasion. The English word Tibet is derived from the
Arabic word Tubbat. This word is in turn derived via Persian
from the Turkic word Tobad, meaning ‘the heights’. Tibet was
occupied by China in 1949, and the Dalai Lama fled into exile in
India in 1959. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetans have died as a
direct result of Chinese occupation since 1949. There are six
million Tibetans in Tibet and roughly 150,000 Tibetans in exile
in India and other countries. The Dalai Lama has devolved his
political authority t