Tibet (Classical Tibetan: Bod; Lhasa dialect: Pö; Chinese: 西藏, Xīzàng) is an autonomous region of China.

Entering Tibet you feel as though you've entered an entirely different world. As much as the Chinese government maintains its policy of cultural assimilation and autonomy, Tibetans try to preserve their unique heritage.

Isolated Tibetan autonomous prefectures found in Qinghai, southwest Gansu, western Sichuan and northwest Yunnan provinces along with the Tibet Autonomous Region form the Greater Tibet region of China. These areas outside the Tibet Autonomous Region are culturally, historically and linguistically Tibetan to various degrees.

Regions

Qamdo, Chamdo, Chab mdo or Changdu?

Any place in Tibet can be spelled at least four different ways. Tibetan Pinyin (Qamdo) combines Tibetan pronunciation with Chinese pinyin spelling: it's used on signs, tickets and such, and being the most useful for the traveller it's what Wikitravel uses too. Tournadre (Chamdo) uses more Western spelling, but is not often seen in Tibet itself. Scholars like Wylie (Chab mdo), which copies Tibetan writing precisely but makes pronouncing near-impossible (eg. Bka' rgyud is read "Kagyu"). Finally, any place in Tibet has a Chinese name (昌都), which can be read as Chinese (Changdu).

There are seven prefectures in the Tibet Autonomous Region:

Lhasa

Qamdo

Nagqu

Ngari

Nyingchi

Shannan

Xigatse

Cities

Lhasa - the capital of Tibet

Gyantse

Qamdo (Chamdo)

Xigatse (Shigatse) - the second largest city in Tibet

Other destinations

Mount Kailash - a sacred mountain revered by both Tibetan Buddhists and Hindhus.

Qomolangma National Nature Reserve

Yarlong River National Park containing the world's largest canyon, the Yalung Zangbo Canyon.