Lhasa

Sunday, 09 December 2012

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Amdo County
Amdo County. (Tibetan ཨ་མདོ་རྫོང་; Wylie: a mdo rdzong) is a county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The county covers an area of 43,410.85 square kilometres and is dominated by mainly Tibetan grassland. In 2000 it had a population of 32,843 .
Its capital is Amdo Town, north of Lhasa. It has a station on the new railway from Golmud to Lhasa. There is a major rail depot 3 km west of the town. Cona Lake lies to the southwest of the town of Amdo.
Coordinates: 32°15′50″N 91°40′50″E / 32.26389°N 91.68056°E / 32.26389; 91.68056

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Anhui
Coordinates: 31°50′N 117°0′E / 31.833°N 117°E / 31.833; 117
Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; pinyin: Ānhuī; Wade–Giles: An-hui, Mandarin pronunciation: [ánxwéi]) is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny section in the north. The capital of the province is Hefei.
The name "Anhui" derives from the names of two cities in south Anhui, Anqing and Huizhou (now Huangshan City). The abbreviation for Anhui is "皖" (Wǎn), because there were historically a State of Wan, a Mount Wan, and a Wan river in the province.
The province of Anhui was formed in the seventeenth century. Before then, there was no coherent concept of "Anhui". Northern Anhui was firmly a part of the North China Plain in terms of culture, together with modern-day Henan province. Central Anhui constituted most of the fertile and densely-populated Huai He River watershed. Southern Anhui, along the Yangtze, was closer to Hubei and southern Jiangsu provinces in culture. Finally, the hills of southeastern Anhui formed a unique and distinct cultural sphere of its own.

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Aral, Xinjiang
Aral, Ala'er or Alar (simplified Chinese: 阿拉尔; traditional Chinese: 阿拉爾; pinyin: Ālā'ěr; Uyghur: ئارال‎, ULY: Aral is a sub-prefecture-level city in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China.
This is the city of Tarim University, which was created to assist in the development of the area, that extends into the Taklamakan Desert. This has been achieved by irrigation. Aral has a population of over 200,000.
See also: Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
Coordinates: 40°30′56″N 81°15′49″E / 40.51556°N 81.26361°E / 40.51556; 81.26361

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Bainang County
Bainang County (Chinese: 白朗县; Pinyin: Báilǎng Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Template:XShigatse Prefecture

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Baingoin County
Baingoin County (Tibetan དཔལ་མགོན་རྫོང་ Wylie dpal mgon rdzong; Chinese: 班戈县; Pinyin: Bāngé Xiàn) is a small county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Coordinates: 31°20′35″N 90°09′37″E / 31.34306°N 90.16028°E / 31.34306; 90.16028

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Banbar County
Banbar County, (Tibetan: དཔལ་འབར་རྫོང་ Wylie dpal 'bar rdzong; Chinese: 边坝县; Pinyin: Biānbà Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region,
The seat is the town of Banbar Town.

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Baotou
Baotou (simplified Chinese: 包头; traditional Chinese: 包頭; pinyin: Bāotóu, Mongolian: Buɣutu) is a mid-sized industrial city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, its urban areas are home to a population of approximately 1.78 million, with a total population of over 2.65 million accounting for counties under its jurisdiction. The city's Mongolian name means "place with deer", and an alternate name in Chinese is "Lùchéng" (鹿城), meaning "Deer City".
Baotou is divided into 10 county-level divisions, including 7 districts,1 county and 2 banners.
The area now known as Baotou was inhabited since ancient times by nomads, most notably the Mongols. Near the end of the Han Dynasty, Lü Bu, a particularly noteworthy warrior, was born here. Compared to the capital, Hohhot, Baotou's construction as a city came relatively late, being incorporated as a town in 1809. The city's site was chosen because it was in an arable region of the Yellow River's Great Bend.

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Baqên County
Baqên County(Simplified Chinese:巴青县，Traditional Chinese:巴青縣) (Tibetan སོག་རྫོང་ Wylie sog rdzong) is a county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The seat of the county is Baqên Town.
It is located in northeastern Tibet and borders with Qinghai.
Coordinates: 32°35′41″N 93°55′49″E / 32.59472°N 93.93028°E / 32.59472; 93.93028

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Baxoi County
Baxoi County, occasionally transliterated from Tibetan as Pashoe County, (Tibetan: དཔའ་ཤོད་རྫོང་ Wylie dpa' shod rdzong; Chinese: 八宿县; Pinyin: Bāsù Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Population 35,273 (1999). It contains the Pomda Monastery.

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Beihai
Beihai (Chinese: 北海) (formerly Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. The name of the city means "north of the sea" in Chinese, signifying its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin, which has granted it historical importance as a port of international trade for Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan. Between the years 2006 and 2020, Beihai is predicted to be the world's fastest growing city. Beihai has a large shipyard, but most of the money generated in the city is derived from trade.
The dialect spoken throughout Beihai is "Baihua" a Cantonese dialect; Mandarin is not often used or spoken by the population, though it is the official language used in government, business and post-elementary-level education throughout mainland China.
It governs the small islands of Weizhou and Xieyang, and is directly north of Hainan Island.
Beihai contains three districts and one county, which are subdivided into five urban sub-districts, 23 towns, 3 townships, 87 neighborhood committees, 343 village committees. (see also Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Levels)

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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.

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Beit Shemesh
Beit Shemesh (Hebrew: בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ‎‎,; Greek: Βαιθσαμύς; Latin: Bethsames) is a city located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of 80,600 in 2010. The history of Beit Shemesh goes back to pre-biblical times. The modern city of Beit Shemesh was founded in 1950.
The ancient city of Beit Shemesh ("house of the sun" or "temple of the sun" in Hebrew) was originally named after the Canaanite sun-goddess Shemesh, who was worshipped there in antiquity. The ruins of the ancient biblical city can still be seen in the tell of Beit Shemesh, located near the modern city.
Several important and unique archaeological discoveries have been made in recent digs at the tel. The most ancient iron workshop in the world was discovered here in 2003. The only remnants of a fortified city with an advanced water system, from the time of the early Kingdom of Judah was found here. The bones of animals found in the 12th-11th centuries BCE layer indicate a diet typical of the Israelites who inhabited the hill country in this period. These together with the pottery finds indicate the cultural influences on the inhabitants of this border town. However, it is not possible to determine their specific ethnic identity, which could be Canaanite, Philistine or Israelite.

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Benxi
Benxi (Chinese: 本溪; pinyin: Běnxī) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province in Northeast China, south-southeast of Shenyang. Its population is 1,709,538 at the 2010 census whom 959,610 in the built up area It was founded as a metallurgical center in 1915. Benxi Iron and Steel Company ("Bengang") is the largest employer in the city, and used to be the 4th largest steel company in China. The second largest industry in Benxi is coal mining. Benxi has pollution problems due to steel production and coal mining.
The worst coal mining disaster in the world took place on April 26, 1942 in Benxihu Colliery. A coal-dust explosion killed 1,549 miners working that day.
During the disaster of Air France flight AF447, Benxi Iron and Steel Company lost 5 employees, including the executive Chen Chiping who was the wife of Liaoning's provincial governor.
Benxi contains 4 districts and 2 autonomous counties for the Manchu nation:
Within these there are 25 counties, 40 villages and towns, 229 communities and 289 village committees.

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Binhai New Area
Binhai New Area (simplified Chinese: 滨海新区; traditional Chinese: 濱海新區)，also known as Binhai (simplified Chinese: 滨海; traditional Chinese: 濱海), is a major economic development zone within the jurisdiction of Tianjin municipality in China. Binhai New Area is located on the coast, east of Tianjin, and is centered on the Circum-Bohai-Sea Region. Binhai New Area is a new growth area in China. By the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies had invested and established branch offices there. Binhai is intended to be a base for China's advanced industrial and financial reform and innovation. A number of major companies including Rockefeller, TISHMAN SPEYER, Motorola, Airbus have built branches there. For instance, EADS Airbus has already opened an assembly plant for its A320 series airliners, operational since 2009. The Binhai New Area is intended to replicate development seen in Shenzhen and Pudong, Shanghai. It is a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the PRC, and experimental reforms are taking place throughout the zone.

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Biru County
Biru County (Tibetan འབྲི་རུ་རྫོང་, Wylie 'bri ru rdzong) is a small county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The name means "female yak".
At the 2000 PRC census, the county's population was 45,222, of whom:
Coordinates: 31°46′39″N 93°33′00″E / 31.7775°N 93.55°E / 31.7775; 93.55

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Bolivia
Coordinates: 16°42′43″S 64°39′58″W / 16.712°S 64.666°W / -16.712; -64.666 Bolivia (ⁱ/bəˈlɪviə/, Spanish: [boliˈβja]) officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, Quechua: Bulivya Mamallaqta, Aymara: Wuliwya Suyu), is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Prior to European colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest state in Pre-Columbian America. The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century. During most of the Spanish colonial period, this territory was called Upper Peru and was under the administration of the Viceroyalty of Peru, which included most of Spain's South American colonies. After declaring independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar, on 6 August 1825. Bolivia has struggled through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic woes.

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Bomê County
Bomê County (Tibetan: སྤོ་མེས་རྫོང།སྤོ་སྨད་རྫོང་, Wylie sPo mes rDzong, Chinese: 波密县; Pinyin: Bōmì Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingchi Prefecture in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The population was 27,169 in 1999.
Bomai (sPo smad) or Boyü (sPo yul) (Pome or Poyul in Western accounts) was the seat of a quasi-independent kingdom until the early 20th century when troops of the Dalai Lama's Lhasa government integrated it forcefully into the central Tibetan realm.
The kingdom of sPo bo, or sPo yul (“country of sPo”) was an off-shoot of the ancient dynasty of the first Tibetan kings of the Yarlung Valley. Its inhabitants had a reputation as fearsome savages which meant most travellers kept clear of it and so it was one of the least known areas in the Tibetan traditional feudal establishment.
Its isolation was also enhanced by the belief by a great number of Tibetans that in its borders was one of the 'hidden lands' or beyul (Tibetan: sbas-yul) referred to in the prophecies of Guru Rinpoche. sPo ba’s area of control far exceeded the boundaries of Bomê County. The kingdom acted as a protecting power from the Klo pa tribes for the streams of Tibetan pilgrims searching for this Promised Land in the East Himalayas from the mid-seventeenth century. Its power extended south over the Doshong La pass, to include the location of one of these earthly paradises called Padma bkod (written variously Pema köd, Pemakö and Pemako), literally 'Lotus Array', a region in the North-Eastern Province of Upper Siang of Arunachal Pradesh. Accounts of this terrestrial paradise influenced James Hilton's Shangri-La. A period of instability overtook the kingdom after Chinese incursions in 1905 and 1911. By 1931 the Lhasa government had expelled the last Ka gnam sde pa ('king') and established two garrisons.

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Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 5,430 feet (1,655 m). The city is 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Denver.
The United States Census Bureau reported that in 2010 the population of the City of Boulder was 97,385, while the population of the Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area was 293,161.
Boulder is famous for its status as one of the most liberal cities in Colorado, its colorful Western history, being a choice destination for hippies in the late 1960s, and as home of the main campus of the University of Colorado, the state's largest university. Furthermore, the city of Boulder frequently acquires top rankings in health, well-being, quality of life, education, and art.
On November 7, 1861 legislation was passed making way for the state university to be located in Boulder and on September 20, 1875 the first cornerstone was for the first building (Old Main Building) on the C.U. campus. The university officially opened on September 5, 1877.

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Burang County
Burang County (Chinese: 普兰县; Pinyin: Pǔlán Xiàn) is called Purang in Tibetan, and the county capital is also known as Purang in Tibetan and Taklakot in Nepali. It is an administrative division under Ngari Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China on the far south-western border with Nepal and India.
It covers an area of 12,497 square kilometres (4,825 sq mi) and has a population of some 73,000 people. Its capital and county seat is in Jirang which is located only 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Nepalese territory but some 450 kilometres (280 mi) north-west of Kathmandu. It is an important Chinese customs point between Tibet, Nepal and India. Much of the county consists of river valleys of mountains and lakes such as the Holy Mountain Kangrinboqê (Mount Kailash), The Naimonany Peak Gunrla and Lake Maponen Yamco Lake Manasarowar. The Karnali River is also a prominent geographical feature of the landscape. Wildlife commonly seen in the far south-western Tibetan county are wild donkeys, wild yaks, yellow goats, antelope, rock goat, lynxes, foxes, leopards and marmots.

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Caina
Caina or Cainaxiang (Chinese: 才纳; Pinyin: Cáinà) is a township in Qüxü County, Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Caina is located in the Lhasa River valley, 42 kilometres by road (about an hour's drive ) southwest of Lhasa. The Caina Bridge was built over the Lhasa River in the early 1990s.

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Chang'an
Chang'an listen (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 长安; traditional Chinese: 長安; pinyin: Cháng'ān; Wade–Giles: Ch'ang-an) is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" (Chinese: 常安; pinyin: Cháng'ān); yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, the name was again changed to Xi'an, meaning "Western Peace", which has remained its name to the present day.
Chang'an had been settled since the Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao Culture established in Banpo in the city's suburb. Also in the northern vicinity of the modern Xi'an, the tumulus ruler Qin Shi Huang of Qin Dynasty held his imperial court, and constructed his massive mausoleum guarded by the famed Terracotta Army.
From its capital at Xianyang, the Qin dynasty ruled a larger area than either of the preceding dynasties. The imperial city of Chang'an during the Han Dynasty was located in northwest of today's Xi'an. During the Tang Dynasty, the area to be known as Chang'an included the area inside the Ming Xi'an fortification, plus some small areas to its east and west, and a major part of its southern suburbs. The Tang Chang'an hence, was 8 times the size of the Ming Xi'an, which was reconstructed upon the premise of the former imperial quarter of the Sui and Tang city. During its heyday, Chang'an was one of the largest and most populous cities in the world. Around AD 750, Chang'an was called a "million people's city" in Chinese records, while modern estimates put it at around 800,000–1,000,000 within city walls. According to the census in 742 recorded in the New Book of Tang, 362,921 families with 1,960,188 persons were counted in Jingzhao Fu (京兆府), the metropolitan area including small cities in the vicinity.

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Changchun
Changchun (Chinese: 长春; pinyin: Chángchūn Manchu: ᠴᠠᠩ ᠴᡠᠨ, Cang cun) is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and county-level cities. The name, which means "Long Spring", originated from the Jurchen language. The 6 urban districts of Changchun's city proper have a total population of 3,341,700 in 2010 which correspond to the built up area.
Changchun started as a minor trading town. In 1800, Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty selected a small village on the east bank of the Yitong River and named it "Changchun Ting." In 1889, it was promoted as "Changchun Fu".
In May 1898, as Russians were building a railway from Harbin to Lüshun (the southern branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway), Changchun got its first railway station, located in Kuancheng.
After Russia's loss of the southernmost section of this branch as a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the Kuancheng station (Kuanchengtze, in contemporary spelling) became the last Russian station on this branch. The next station to the south - the new "Japanese" Changchun station, just a short distance to the south - became the first station of the South Manchuria Railway, which now owned all the tracks running farther south, to Lüshun, which they re-gauged to the standard gauge (after a short stint of using the narrow Japanese gauge during the war).

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Changsha
Changsha (simplified Chinese: 长沙; traditional Chinese: 長沙; pinyin: Chángshā; Wade–Giles: Chang-sha) is the capital city of Hunan, in south-central China, located on the lower reaches of Xiang river, a branch of the Yangtze River. Its municipality covers an area of 11,819 sq. kilometers and, according to the 2010 Census, a population of 7,044,118 inhabitants.
Changsha was important from the time of the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). In AD 750–1100 Changsha was an important commercial city, and its population increased greatly. Under the Qing dynasty, from 1664, it was the capital of Hunan province, and it was a major rice market. It was besieged during the Taiping Rebellion but never fell. Changsha was the site of Mao Zedong's conversion to communism. It was the scene of major battles in the Sino-Japanese War of 1937–45 and was briefly occupied by the Japanese. Rebuilt since 1949, the city is now a major port and a commercial and industrial center.
The origins of the name "Changsha" are lost in antiquity. The name first appears in the 11th century BC, during the reign of King Cheng of the Zhou dynasty, a vassal lord from the Changsha area sent a type of softshell turtle known as "Changsha softshell turtle" (Chinese: 长沙鼈) as tribute to the Zhou king. In the 2nd century AD, historian Ying Shao wrote that the Qin dynasty use of the name Changsha for the area was a continuance of its old name.

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China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

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Chokpori
Chokpori, Chagpori, Chagpo Ri (Wylie: lCags po ri, literally "Iron Mountain"; simplified Chinese: 药王山; traditional Chinese: 藥王山; pinyin: Yàowáng shān) is a sacred hill in the city of Lhasa in Tibet. It south of the Potala and just to the left when one is facing the Potala. It is considered to be one of the four holy mountains of central Tibet.
It was the site of the most famous medical school Tibet, known as the Mentsikhang, which was founded in 1413. It was conceived of by Lobsang Gyatso, the "Great" 5th Dalai Lama, and completed by the Regent Sangye Gyatso shortly before 1697.
During the March 1959 Lhasa uprising, the medical school and a temple housing statutes of coral (Tsepame), mother-of-pearl (of Tujechempo) and turquoise (of Drolma) were demolished by PLA artillery as the Tibetans had allegedly placed their cannons up there. It is now crowned by radio antennas, which has been viewed as "yet another Chinese attempt to demean the things of value to the people of Tibet." A road has been constructed through the spur that used to connect Chokpori with the Marpo Ri ('Red Hill') on which the Potala is built.

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Chongye County
Qonggyai County or Chongye County, (Tibetan: སྣེ་གདོང་རྫོང་ Wylie: ´phyongs rgyas rdzong; Chinese: 琼结县; Pinyin: Qióngjié Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Qonggyai contains the Valley of the Kings, a series of graveyard tumuli, approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) south of Tsetang, Tibet, near the town of Chongye or Qonggyai on Mure Mountain. The site possesses eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings.
"According to Tibetan tradition all the kings from Dri-gum onwards are buried at ‘Phyong-rgyas, but as the site now presents itself, there are just ten tumuli identifiable as the tombs of all the kings from Srong-brtsan-sgam-po to Khri-lde-srong-brtsan, including two princes . . . ."
Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include Songtsän Gampo (the founder of the Tibetan Empire), Nansong Mangsten, Tridu Songtsen, Gyangtsa Laban, Tride Tsugtsen, Trisong Detsen, Muni Tsangpo and Tritsu Detsen.

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Chupzang Nunnery
Chupzang Nunnery (Chu bzang dgon) is a historical nunnery, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa in Tibet. Though the site was established as a hermitage around 1665, it was converted into an exclusive nunnery in 1984 and has since grown into one of the largest nunneries in the Lhasa Valley.
Chupzang, also spelt Chubzang, in Tibetan means "fresh water" or "good water" and is so-named because water is supplied by a natural spring.
The Chubzang Nunnery, located on the hill side, is situated to the northwest of Sera Monastery and to the north of Lhasa in the suburb of Nyang bran, at the base of the rocky canyon which is covered with shrubs. It is approachable by about a 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) path from Sera, which takes about 20 minutes to cover. It is also approachable from Trashi Chöling Hermitage from the south-east direction. As originally built, the hermitage (ri khrod) faces south. The layout of the hermitage has three components. The first part, on the extreme north, consists of a multitude of stupas (reliquaries) amidst painted rocks that depict craven images said to be ‘self-arisen’. The second part, which is the main hermitage complex, is to the south of the stupas and has the monastery with the Dharma courtyard (chosrwa), and a secondary temple. The third part, to the south of the temple complex, has a plethora of apartments, which are all privately owned by the nuns themselves.

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Comai County
Comai County (Tibetan: མཚོ་སམད་རྫོང་, Wylie: mtsho smad rdzong, Chinese: 措美县; Pinyin: Cuòměi Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture located in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region,
Comai County is famous for its Tibetan Mastiffs and known as the home of Tibetan Mastiff.
Tibetan Mastiff is 24-28 inches tall (at shoulder) and weighs 140-180 pounds. The dog is commonly found wearing a red yak's-hair collar.
Coordinates: 28°44′59″N 91°46′54″E / 28.74972°N 91.78167°E / 28.74972; 91.78167

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Coqên County
Coqên County(Tibetan: མཚོ་ཆེན་རྫོང་ wylie: mtsho chen rdzong; Chinese: 措勤县; Pinyin:Cuòqín Xiàn) is a county in the Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is located on the border in the south-west of the country.
Coordinates: 30°45′14″N 85°15′53″E / 30.75389°N 85.26472°E / 30.75389; 85.26472

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Cuona County
Cuona County, (Tibetan: མཚོ་སྣ་རྫོང་, Wylie: mtsho sna rdzong; Chinese: 错那县; pinyin: Cuònà Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture located in the far south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is located here. India claimed this county as part of Arunachal Pradesh, which is a disputed area between People's Republic of China and India.
Coordinates: 27°55′36″N 93°27′39″E / 27.92667°N 93.46083°E / 27.92667; 93.46083

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Dagzê County
Dagzê (Tibetan: སྟག་རྩེ་རྫོང་; Wylie: Stag-rtse rdzong; simplified Chinese: 达孜县; pinyin: Dázī Xiàn) is a county immediately east of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet.
Coordinates: 29°55′36″N 91°37′31″E / 29.92667°N 91.62528°E / 29.92667; 91.62528

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Dalian
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Damquka
Damquka is a village in Damxung Town of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is the administrative seat of Damxung County.
Coordinates: 30°31′N 91°5′E / 30.517°N 91.083°E / 30.517; 91.083

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Damxung County
Damxung is a county far north of the main centre of Lhasa in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its administrative seat is Damquka.
Damxung means "selected pasture" in Tibetan language.
Damxung County is located in the middle of the Tibet Autonomous Region and by the side of the Lhamo Namco Holy Lake. It covers an area of 10,036 square kilometres with a population of 38,473 (1999).
Damxung County is at the area of Gangdisê and Nyainqêntanglha Mountains. The Nyainqêntanglha range crosses through the whole county.
The biggest lake in Tibet - Lhamo Nam Co is in Damxung County. The lake covers an area of 1920 square kilometres. It's a famous tourism attraction of Tibet.
The main mine resources are sulfur, kaolin, pozzolana, plaster and turf, etc.
Animal husbandry is booming in the area. The herdsmen raise yaks, sheep, goats and horses.
Qinghai-Tibet Highway (part of G219) goes through the whole county and Damxung railway station links the city from the north to Lhasa.
The mileage opened to traffic has reached 1625 kilometres.

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Damxung Town
Damxung is a small modern Tibetan town of low-barrack like buildings and is the administrative centre of Damxung County near Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Unlike many of the quaint old Tibetan settlements in the more southern farming areas of Tibet this town is modern, built up during the 1960s by the Chinese. Damxung is an important spot in the region for government functions and general supplies. It has a large warehouse set back from the main street where basic necessities and warm clothes can be bought for trekking through the mountains. Its nearest towns are Yangpachen to the south and Nagqu to the north.
A major Tibetan festival called Dajyur takes place at Damxung at the beginning of the eighth month of the lunar calendar (solar September) for ten days of festivity attracting nomads to compete in horse racing and yak racing events, bicycle riding contests, rock-carrying competitions and other forms of merriment.
As of 2005, a highway was under construction to the sacred lake of Namtso, 60 km. away.

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Danzhou
Danzhou (Chinese: 儋州; pinyin: Dānzhōu) is a city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. It is a County-level city administered directly by the province.
The city's population was 829,567 in 1999.

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Datong
Coordinates: 40°05′N 113°18′E / 40.083°N 113.3°E / 40.083; 113.3
Datong (Chinese: 大同; pinyin: Dàtóng; Wade–Giles: Ta-t'ung) is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province of North China, located a few hundred kilometres west by rail from Beijing with an elevation of 1,040 metres (3,410 ft). It has a population of 3,318,057 at the 2010 census of whom 1,447,150 live in the built up area made of 3 out of 4 urban districts (City, Mining and Nanjiao).
Near here was the Beidi kingdom of Tai which was conquered by the Zhou dynasty in 457BC. It bordered on the Hu nomads and traded in horses. Tai was later a commandery or county.
The town was founded as Píngchéng (平城) in 200 BC during the Han Dynasty, after the Battle of Baideng between the Han and the Xiongnu. Located near the Great Wall Pass to Inner Mongolia. It blossomed during the following period and became a stop-off point for Camel Caravans moving from China into Mongolia and beyond. It was sacked at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Pingcheng became the capital of Northern Wei from 398 AD until 494 AD. The famous Yungang Grottoes (云冈石窟 Yúngāng Shíkū) were constructed during the later part of this period (460 – 494 AD).

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Dinggyê County
Dinggyê County or Tingche County or Tingkye County (Chinese: 定结县; Pinyin: Dìngjié Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Jin Co and Duolo Co are located in this county.

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Doilungdêqên County
Doilungdêqên (Tibetan: སྟོད་ལུང་བདེ་ཆེན་རྫོང༌།, Wylie: stod-lung-bde-chen rdzong, ZYPY: Dölungdêqên Zong; simplified Chinese: 堆龙德庆县; pinyin: Duīlóngdéqìng Xiàn) is a county north-west of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet. Tsurphu Monastery and Nenang Nunnery are located in the county.
Doilungdêgên County is located in central and southern Tibet and is a suburb of Lhasa. It covers an area of 2682 square kilometers, with 9.6 million mu of cultivated land. It has jurisdiction over 11 townships, one town, and 89 village committees.Doilungdêqên Town has a notable missile base and is located just 11 or 12 kilometres from Lhasa. Other towns include Donggar and Ryugo. The county was established in under the Lhasa Municipal People's Government. The Yarlung Tsangpo river (Brahmaputra) flows through the county from west to east. The maximum altitude is 5,500 meters, with the lowest elevation at 3640 meters. The valley to the southeast of the county is flat and open and is a temperate semi-arid monsoon plateau area. Precipitation during the rainy season is concentrated with intense solar radiation but a low temperature. Annual sunshine is about 3,000 hours, with an annual frost-free period of 120 days. Annual precipitation is 440 millimeters on average and natural disasters, droughts, hail, frost, snow, pests, floods and so on are common.

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Dongfang, Hainan
Dongfang (simplified Chinese: 东方; traditional Chinese: 東方; pinyin: Dōngfāng; literally "the East") is one of the 7 county-level cities of Hainan Province, People's Republic of China. It is located on the western coast of Hainan Island facing Vietnam across the Gulf of Tonkin, and in 2004 had a population of 435,000.
Dongfang has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen Aw).Monsoonal influences are strong, and the two seasons are the wet season and the dry season (November to April), where little rainfall occurs (January to March). Rainfall is heaviest and most frequent from August to October, when typhoons may strike, and averages an annual total of 960 millimetres (38 in), lower than many locations on the island. The city receives ample sunshine, amounting to 2560 hours annually.

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Donggar
Donggar (Chinese: 　　东嘎镇 ) is a town in Doilungdêqên County in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, northwest of Lhasa. It lies at an altitude of 3,828 metres (12,562 feet). The town has a population of about 4000 people with 9,359 people in the township and lies roughly 10 miles north of Nam Co lake.
It lies approximately 17.8 miles south of Dobjoi and is near Cha'gyungoinba.
In 1962 Donggar became an administrative township, covering an area of 85 square kilometers. Donggar Township has three village committees and 17 villages. The economy is dominated by agriculture, animal husbandry with an area of 8636 mu of cultivated land, including barley, wheat, rapeseed and vegetables. Livestock breeding includes yaks, sheep, goats, etc. China National Highway 318 runs through this territory.
Coordinates: 29°19′N 88°49′E / 29.317°N 88.817°E / 29.317; 88.817

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Drakri Hermitage
Drakri Hermitage is an historic hermitage in Tibet, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) northeast of Lhasa, on a mountainside.
The hermitage grounds consists of five sections:
While the hermitage (whose name derives from brag ri, meaning "crag" or "gorge") is believed to have been founded during the 18th century, little documentation of its early history exists. In 1959, the monks were evicted and Drakri converted into a prison with a reputation for severity. With the expansion of other prisons in Lhasa, Drakri was eventually abandoned.
During the 1980s a representative of a rival sect to that of the original owners (headed by the Bari Lama) began restoration work on the hermitage to convert it to a Nyingma practice center. In response to objections raised by a representative of the previous owner (who was, however, unable to renovate the estate himself), the Nyingma devotee has asserted that he is renovating the hermitage in stewardship rather than ownership.

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Drapchi Prison
Drapchi Prison, or Lhasa Prison No. 1 (simplified Chinese: 拉萨第一监狱; traditional Chinese: 拉薩第一監獄) is the largest prison in Tibet, located in Lhasa.
Originally built as a Tibetan military garrison, Drapchi was transformed into a prison after the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
It officially opened as a prison in 1965 and consists of a series of nine units and has recently been expanded and restructured. It has an estimated population of 1000 of which some 600 are thought to be political prisoners ranging in age from 18 to 85 many of which are captured monks and nuns.
According to Central Tibetan Administration, the prison has gained a notorious reputation and is feared by the Tibetans due to its strong management. Reports of brutality have been alleged by Tibetan exile groups.
In November 1994, 13 nuns were sent to Drapchi to serve a 5-year sentence for endangering state security by protests against the Chinese rule in Lhasa. In April 1996, all the inmates of Unit 3 of Drapchi prison, consisting of nearly 100 female political prisoners, went on a hunger strike in protest of their treatment. The week-long strike caused the prison officers some concern that it might damage the reputation of the prison further if the inmates died as a result and promised an end to the brutality.

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Drepung
Drepung Monastery (Wylie: 'bras spungs dgon ),(literally “Rice Heap” monastery), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden and Sera.
Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, five kilometers from the western suburb of Lhasa.
Freddie Spencer Chapman reported, after his 1936-37 trip to Tibet, that Drepung was at that time the largest monastery in the world, and housed 7,700 monks, "but sometimes as many as 10,000 monks."
Since the 1950s, Drepung Monastery, along with its peers Ganden and Sera, have lost much of their independence and spiritual credibility in the eyes of Tibetans since they operate under the close watch of the Chinese security services. All three were reestablished in exile in the 1950s in Karnataka state in south India. Drepung and Ganden are in Mundgod and Sera is in Bylakuppe.
It was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge Tashi Palden (1397–1449), one of Tsongkhapa's main disciples, and it was named after the sacred abode in South India of Shridhanyakataka. Drepung was the principal seat of the Gelugpa school and it retained the premier place amongst the four great Gelugpa monasteries. The Ganden Podang (dga´ ldan pho brang) in Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the Great Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Potala.Drepung was known for the high standards of its academic study, and was called the Nalanda of Tibet, a reference to the great Buddhist monastic university of India.

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Drepung Monastery
Drepung Monastery (Wylie: 'bras spungs dgon ),(literally “Rice Heap” monastery), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden and Sera.
Drepung is the largest of all Tibetan monasteries and is located on the Gambo Utse mountain, five kilometers from the western suburb of Lhasa.
Freddie Spencer Chapman reported, after his 1936-37 trip to Tibet, that Drepung was at that time the largest monastery in the world, and housed 7,700 monks, "but sometimes as many as 10,000 monks."
Since the 1950s, Drepung Monastery, along with its peers Ganden and Sera, have lost much of their independence and spiritual credibility in the eyes of Tibetans since they operate under the close watch of the Chinese security services. All three were reestablished in exile in the 1950s in Karnataka state in south India. Drepung and Ganden are in Mundgod and Sera is in Bylakuppe.
It was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choge Tashi Palden (1397–1449), one of Tsongkhapa's main disciples, and it was named after the sacred abode in South India of Shridhanyakataka. Drepung was the principal seat of the Gelugpa school and it retained the premier place amongst the four great Gelugpa monasteries. The Ganden Podang (dga´ ldan pho brang) in Drepung was the residence of the Dalai Lamas until the Great Fifth Dalai Lama constructed the Potala.Drepung was known for the high standards of its academic study, and was called the Nalanda of Tibet, a reference to the great Buddhist monastic university of India.

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Dunhuang
Dunhuang (Chinese: 敦煌; pinyin: Dūnhuáng, also as simplified Chinese: 炖煌; traditional Chinese: 燉煌; pinyin: Dūnhuáng in ancient times meaning 'Blazing Beacon') is a city (pop. 187,578 (2000)) in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu (沙州), or 'City of Sands', a name still used today, "or Dukhan as the Turkis call it." It is best known for the nearby Dunhuang Caves.
It is situated in a rich oasis containing Crescent Lake (月牙泉) and Mingsha Shan (鸣沙山, literally "Echoing-Sand Mountain"). Mingsha Shan is so named for the sound of the wind whipping off the dunes, the singing sand phenomenon.
It commands a very strategic position at the crossroads of the ancient Southern Silk Route and the main road leading from India via Lhasa to Mongolia and Southern Siberia, as well as controlling the entrance to the narrow Gansu Corridor which led straight to the heart of the north Chinese plains and the ancient capitals of Chang'an (today known as Xi'an) and Luoyang.

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Dêngqên County
Dêngqên County, (Tibetan: སྟེང་ཆེན་རྫོང་ Wylie steng chen rdzong; Chinese: 丁青县; Pinyin: Dīngqīng Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region,

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Elista
Elista (Russian: Эли́ста or Элиста́;Kalmyk: Элст, Elst) is the capital city of the Republic of Kalmykia, Russia. Population: 103,728 (2010 Census preliminary results); 104,254 (2002 Census); 89,695 (1989 Census).
Elista was founded in 1865 as a small settlement; the name is from Kalmyk els(e)n 'sand(y).' In November 1920, Elista became the administrative center of Kalmyk Autonomous Oblast. By the early 1930s, Elista was transformed into a small city as the collectivization policies of Joseph Stalin forced many Kalmyks to abandon their traditional pastoral nomadic lifestyle in exchange for a modern, sedentary, and urban lifestyle. In October 1935, Elista was recognized as the capital of the Kalmyk ASSR.
On December 27, 1943, the Kalmyk ASSR was dissolved and its ethnic Kalmyk residents were forcibly exiled to Siberia. Russian people were brought in to repopulate Elista whose name was changed to Stepnoy (Степно́й). It was called Stepnoy until 1957, when the survivors of the deportations were allowed to return from exile.

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Fujian
Coordinates: 25°54′N 118°18′E / 25.9°N 118.3°E / 25.9; 118.3
Fujian (help·info) (Chinese: 福建), formerly romanised as Fukien or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait. The name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou (a former name for Jian'ou) two cities in Fujian, during the Tang Dynasty. With a Han majority, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China.
Most of Fujian is administered by the People's Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu are under the control of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Thus, there are two provinces (in the sense of government organizations): the Fujian Province administered by the People's Republic of China and the Fujian Province of the Republic of China.
Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 6th millennium BC. From the Keqiutou site (7450–5590 BP), an early Neolithic site in Pingtan Island located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Fuzhou, numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics (including wheel-made-ceramics) have been unearthed, together with spinning wheels, a definitive evidence of weaving.

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Fushun
Fushun (simplified Chinese: 抚顺; traditional Chinese: 撫順; pinyin: Fǔshùn) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about 45 km east from Shenyang, with a population of about 2,138 090 inhabitants at the 2010 census and an area of 11,271 km², including 713 km² of the city proper. Fushun is situated on the Hun River or "muddy river" in English. It was formerly called Fouchouen in French. The film The Lover starring Tony Leung Ka Fai described a love story between a young French woman and a young man from Fouchouen. The city was occupied by Russia until 1905 and by Japan until 1945.
Fushun is a highly industrialized area. It has developed as a thriving center for fuel, power and raw materials but is also offering more and more opportunities in textiles and electronics. It is connected by rail with nearby Shenyang and with Dalian. The world's largest artificial pit, known as the Magnificent West Pit, is located not far from the downtown. It is an open-pit coal mine, being in operation since about the 12th century. Fushun has a major aluminum-reduction plant and factories making automobiles, machinery, chemicals, cement, and rubber.

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Fuzhou
Fuzhou (Chinese: 福州; pinyin: Fúzhōu, [fǔtʂóʊ] ( listen); Fuzhou dialect: Hók-ciŭ) is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong (闽东, lit. East of Fujian) linguistic and cultural area.
Fuzhou's core counties lie on the north (or left) bank of the estuary of Fujian's largest river, the Min River. All along its northern border lies Ningde, and Ningde's Gutian County lies upriver. Fuzhou's counties south of the Min border on Putian, Quanzhou, Sanming and Nanping municipalities. Its population is 7,115,370 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 4,408,076 inhabitants are urban standing around 61.95%, while rural population is at 2,707,294 standing around 38.05%.
In older publications, the name "Fuzhou" was variously romanized as Foochow, Fuchow, Fuh-chau, Fuh-Chow, Hock Chew or Hokchew.
The Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties, a Chinese geographical treatise published in the 9th century AD, says that Fuzhou's name came from "Mt. Fu", a mountain located northwest of the city. The mountain's name was then combined with -zhou, meaning "settlement" or "prefecture", in a manner similar to many other Chinese cities. During the Warring States Period, the Han Chinese referred to the Fuzhou area as Ye (Chinese: 冶), though they did not conquer the area until the Qin Dynasty. The city's name was changed numerous times between the 3rd and 9th centuries AD before finally settling on Fuzhou in 948.

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Gamba County
Gamba County (Chinese: 岗巴县; Pinyin: Gǎngbā Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The capital lies at Gamba or Kamba which has a noted military facility.

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Ganden
Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located at the top of Wangbur Mountain, Tagtse County, 36 kilometers ENE from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, at an altitude of 4,300m. (The other two 'great monasteries' are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery.)
Its full name is Ganden Namgyal Ling (dga' ldan rmam rgyal gling). Ganden means "joyful" and is the Tibetan name for Tuṣita, the heaven where the bodhisattva Maitreya is said to reside. Namgyal Ling means "victorious temple".
It was the original monastery of the Geluk order, founded by Je Tsongkhapa himself in 1409, and traditionally considered to be the seat of Geluk administrative and political power. The Ganden Tripa or 'throne-holder of Ganden' is the head of the Gelukpa school.
Tsongkhapa's preserved body was entombed there in a silver and gold encrusted tomb by his disciples in 1419.
Being the farthest from Lhasa of the three university monasteries, Ganden traditionally had a smaller population with some 6,000 monks in the early 20th century (although Waddell reports an estimate of about 3,300 in the 1890s and there were, apparently only 2,000 in 1959. At this time there are about 170 monks.

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Ganden monastery
Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located at the top of Wangbur Mountain, Tagtse County, 36 kilometers ENE from the Potala Palace in Lhasa, at an altitude of 4,300m. (The other two 'great monasteries' are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery.)
Its full name is Ganden Namgyal Ling (dga' ldan rmam rgyal gling). Ganden means "joyful" and is the Tibetan name for Tuṣita, the heaven where the bodhisattva Maitreya is said to reside. Namgyal Ling means "victorious temple".
It was the original monastery of the Geluk order, founded by Je Tsongkhapa himself in 1409, and traditionally considered to be the seat of Geluk administrative and political power. The Ganden Tripa or 'throne-holder of Ganden' is the head of the Gelukpa school.
Tsongkhapa's preserved body was entombed there in a silver and gold encrusted tomb by his disciples in 1419.
Being the farthest from Lhasa of the three university monasteries, Ganden traditionally had a smaller population with some 6,000 monks in the early 20th century (although Waddell reports an estimate of about 3,300 in the 1890s and there were, apparently only 2,000 in 1959. At this time there are about 170 monks.

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Gansu
Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333
Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.
Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.

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Gar County
Gar County (Tibetan: སྒར་རྫོང་ wylie: sgar rdzong; Chinese: 噶尔县; Pinyin:Gá'ěr Xiàn) is a county in the Ngari Prefecture of the western Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The main town is Shiquanhe, once known as the city of Gar and often known as Ali in English.

Coordinates: 32°05′49″N 80°21′23″E / 32.09694°N 80.35639°E / 32.09694; 80.35639

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Garu Nunnery
Garu Nunnery is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa, Lhasa Prefecture, in the Tibet region of China. The nunnery has an ancient history traced to Padmasambhava (Pha dam pa sangs rgyas), the Indian Buddhist preceptor, who visited this location. He not only named the place as "Garu" but also ordained that it shall be a "Nunnery" not a monastery of monks on the basis of prophetic visions he had during his visit to the place. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some nuns from the monasteries have made publicized demonstrations for Tibetan independence. Many of the protesting nuns were arrested, incarcerated, brutally handled and released only after protracted detention.
The name 'Gar' is derived from the word ‘gar’ in Tibetan language which means: “dance”. Padmasambhava, the Indian Buddhist Guru on a visit to this location saw Dakinis dancing here and therefore called the place as "Garu".
Garu Nunnery is at the western end of the Nyang bran valley. Garu gorge as such is in a remote location but scenic. The nunnery is below the rocky hills, close to a stream and the land below is a kind of meadow, which is used as pasture land for grazing the large herd of cattle (yaks) maintained by the nuns. From the location of the nunnery, which faces south, the Potala Palace and Lhasa (the capital of Tibet) provide a picturesque view. Traditionally, the nuns of the hermitage, habituated to identifying each place with some religious significance, had given names to the hills and peaks surrounding the nunnery; the peak to the north-west was called the Palace of Cakrasamvara (Bde mchog gi pho brang), three rock outcrops near the nunnery were identified as ‘Three Protectors’ (Rigs gsum mgon po); a cliff-face on a northwest hill was named the Mirror of Vajrabhairava (Jigs byed kyi me long) and a peak to the north-east was titled Soul-Mountain of Mañjuśrī (Jam dpal dbyangs kyi bla ri).

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Gongbo'gyamda County
Gongbo'gyamda County (Tibetan: ཀོང་པོ་རྒྱ་མདའ་རྫོང་; Wylie: kong po rgya mda' rdzong; Chinese: 工布江达县; Pinyin: Gōngbùjiāngdá Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingtri Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region, lying approximately 275 km east of Lhasa at its central point. Its main geographical feature is Lake Basum Tso, a green lake of some 3700 metres above sea level.
"Gongbo'gyamda" means "great outlet of the valley" in Tibetan.
Gongbo'gyamda County is located in the east of the Tibet Autonomous Region, to the south of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, to the north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River and in the area of the middle branches of the Nyang River. With a population of 220,00, the county covers an area of 12,886 square kilometres. The average altitude of the county is 3,500 metres above sea level. The Gonggo Lake, with a total area of 26 square kilometres, is a famous lake.
Water resources is abundant in Gongbo'gyamda County. The species of animals include leopard, red deer, black bear, brown bear, otter, monkey and black-necked crane, etc. There are almost a hundred of species of plants in the county, such as aweto, fritillaria and snow lotus, etc.

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Gonggar County
Gonggar County, (Tibetan Gongkar Tibetan:སྣེ་གདོང་རྫོང་ Wylie: gong dkar rdzong; Chinese: 贡嘎县; pinyin: Gònggá Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture (Lhoka Prefecture) in the Tibet Autonomous Region, one of the 12 counties of the prefecture. It has under its jurisdiction 5 towns, 3 townships, 43 administrative villages (neighbourhood committees) and 168 village development committees and contains notable landmarks such as the Gonggar Choide Monastery, the Gonggar Dzong, and the Gonggar Airport and the Gonggar town.
The fable narrated about this county is that the "first Tibetan was born to the fairy girl, Ruosa and her monkey lover".
History of the county came into limelight with the establishment of the Sakyapa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Among the many dzongs and monasteries established in the 14th century the best known are the Gonngar Dzong and the Gonggar Choede Monastery.
In recent history of the county, during the Cultural Revolution of the 1950s, Gonggar County was the scene of armed rebellion between the Kamba rebels (under the banner of “four rivers and six mountain ranges”) and the Peoples Liberation Army of China (PLA); PLA troops were killed and their convoy of army vehicles ambushed here.

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Gongtang
Gongtang is a town and township in Damxung County in the Lhasa Prefecture of Tibet. Established in 1960, in 1970 it became a township. It has a population of around 4800 and contains four village committees. The economy is based around animal husbandry, mainly shepherding goats, sheep, cattle and horses.

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Gonjo County
Gonjo County, (Tibetan: གོ་འཇོ་རྫོང་ Wylie go 'jo rdzong; Chinese: 贡觉县; Pinyin: Gòngjué Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region,

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Guangdong
Coordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′E / 23.4°N 113.5°E / 23.4; 113.5
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province. It surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year. The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are amongst the most populous and important cities in China.
Since 1989 Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank. According to provincial annual preliminary statistics, Guangdong's GDP in 2010 reached CNY 4,550 billion, or USD 689.02 billion, making its economy roughly the same size as that of Turkey or Indonesia. Guangdong has the fourth highest GDP per capita among all provinces of mainland China, after Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Liaoning. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRC's national economic output, and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of multinational and Chinese corporations. Guangdong also hosts the largest Import and Export Fair in China called the Canton Fair in Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou.

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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.

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Guiyang
Guiyang (simplified Chinese: 贵阳; traditional Chinese: 貴陽; pinyin: Guìyáng) is the capital of Guizhou province of Southwest China. It is located in the centre of the province, situated on the east of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau, and on the north bank of the Nanming River, a branch of the Wu River. The city has an elevation of about 1,100 meters. It has an area of 8,034 square kilometers. Its population is 4,324,561 at the 2010 census whom 3,037,159 live in the built up area made of 7 urban districts.
The city was first constructed as early as 1283 AD during the Yuan Dynasty. It was originally called Shunyuan (順元), meaning obeying the Yuan (the Mongol rulers).
Originally the area was populated by non-Chinese. The Sui Dynasty (AD 581–618) had a commandery there, and the Tang dynasty (618–907) a prefecture. They were, however, no more than military outposts, and it was not until the Yuan (Mongol) invasion of southwest China in 1279 that the area was made the seat of an army and a "pacification office." Chinese settlement in the area also began at that time, and, under the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, the town became the seat of a superior prefecture named Guiyang.

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Gyaca County
Gyaca County, (Tibetan: རྒྱ་ཚ་རྫོང་, Wylie: rgya tsha rdzong; Gyatsa; Chinese: 加查县; Pinyin: Jiāchá Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture located in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Gyatsa County is in the south of Tibet, stretching from the Podrang La pass along the southern side of the Brahmaputra River downstream to Pamda which is just to the southwest of Daklha Gampo, across the Brahmaputra. The county capital is in the town of Gyaca or Drumpa (46 km west of Pamda) which is alongside the Drakpo Dratsang Monastery. It is renowned for its walnuts and apricots.
Lhamo La-tso, the small oval 'Oracle Lake', where senior Tibetan monks go for visions to assist in the discovery of reincarnations of the Dalai Lamas is located in Gyaca County,

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Gyaidar
Gyaidar is a town and township in Damxung County in the Lhasa Prefecture of Tibet. The township was affected by the February 5th Damxung earthquake in February 2009.Herdsmen of 151 households in Yangyi village, in Gyaidar Township had to evacuate their homes. The government has given each household a subsidiary of 30,000 yuan, in addition to 1,500 yuan per capita to rebuild the houses destroyed or severely damaged by the disaster.

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Gyirong County
sKyid-grong (Gyirong, Kyirong, Chinese: 吉隆县; Pinyin: Jílóng Xiàn) is a former district (rDzong) in the south-west of Tibet and is from 1960 onwards a county of the newly established Shigatse Prefecture of the newly established Tibet Autonomous Region. It is famous because of its mild climatically conditions and its abundant vegetation which is unusual for the Tibetan plateau. The capital lies at Zongga. Its name in Tibetan, Dzongka means "mud walls".
Up to 1960 one of the main trade routes between Nepal and Tibet passed through this region. Easily accessible from Nepal, it was used several times as an entrance gate for military actions from the site of Nepal against Tibet.
In 1945 Peter Aufschnaiter counted 26 temples and monasteries which covered the area of sKyid-grong and the neighboring La-sdebs. The most famous temple of sKyid-grong is the Byams-sprin lha-khang, erected by the famous Tibetan king Srong-btsan sgam-po (Songtsän Gampo) as one of the four Yang-´dul temples in the 7th century A.D. During the 11th century the famous Indian scholar Atisha visited sKyi-grong. sKyid-grong was one of the favorite meditation places of the Tibetan Yogin Mi-la ras-pa (Milarepa).

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Gê'gyai County
Gê'gyai County (Tibetan: དགེ་རྒྱས་རྫོང་ Wylie: dge.rgyas.rdzong; Chinese: 革吉县; Pinyin: Géjí Xiàn) is a county in the Ngari Prefecture of the western Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
The lake Donggu Co is located in Gê'gyai County.
Coordinates: 31°57′21″N 81°56′53″E / 31.95583°N 81.94806°E / 31.95583; 81.94806

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Gêrzê County
Gêrzê County (Tibetan: སྒེར་རྩེ་རྫོང་ wylie: sger rtse rdzong; Chinese: 改则县; Pinyin:Gǎizé Xiàn) is a county in the Ngari Prefecture of the western-central Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Coordinates: 33°45′53″N 84°07′22″E / 33.76472°N 84.12278°E / 33.76472; 84.12278

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Haikou
Hǎikǒu (Chinese: 海口), is the capital and most populous city of Hainan province, People's Republic of China. It is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is the district of Haidian Island, which is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River, a branch of the Nandu.
Administratively, Haikou is a prefecture-level city, comprising four districts, and covering 2,280 square kilometres (880 sq mi). There are 2,046,189 inhabitants in the built up area all living within the 4 urban districts of the city.
Haikou was originally a port city. Today, more than half of the island's total trade still goes through its ports. The city is home to Hainan University, which has its main campus on Haidian Island.
The hanzi characters comprising the city's name, 海口, mean ocean/sea and mouth/port, respectively. Thus, the name "Haikou" is also a word for "seaport". Haikou originally served as the port for Qiongshan, the ancient administrative capital of Hainan island, located some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland to the south east. During its early history Haikou was a part of Guangdong province. In the 13th century it was fortified and became a military post under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The port is located west of the mouth of the Nandu River, Hainan's principal river. When Qiongshan was opened to foreign trade under the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, Haikou started to rival the old administrative city. In 1926, Haikou overtook Qiongshan in population and it was declared a separate administrative city. Haikou was developed as a port during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) when the Japanese invaded and occupied Hainan Island from early 1939 to 1945.

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Handan
Handan (simplified Chinese: 邯郸; traditional Chinese: 邯鄲; pinyin: Hándān) is a prefecture-level city located in the southwestern part of Hebei Province of China. It borders Xingtai on the north, Shanxi province on the west, Henan province on the south and Shandong province on the east.
Handan was the capital of the State of Zhao during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), after the capital moved from Zhongmu. The city was conquered by the State of Qin after the virtual annexation of Zhao by Qin except for the Dai Commandery. The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang visited the city once and ordered all enemies of his mother to be buried alive.
Handan was still regarded as a commercial centre during the Western and Eastern Han Dynasties (206 BCE–220 CE) but slowly it declined, perhaps because of the numerous battles that ravaged northern China following the Han Dynasty. Handan is now mainly an industrial city. It still has some attractions, most derived from Zhao folklore such as the road into which Lin Xiangru, courier of the precious jade He Shi Bi, backed in order to let his nemesis Lian Po pass first as well as the location in which Lian Po begged for Lin Xiangru's forgiveness.

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Harbin
Harbin (Chinese: 哈尔滨; pinyin: Hā'ěrbīn [xɑ́ɻpín]); Manchu language: 15px, Harbin; Russian: Харбин́ Kharbin listen (help·info)), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, as well as the tenth most populated city in the People's Republic of China. According to the 2010 China census data, the city's municipal area has 5,878,939 inhabitants, while the total population of the sub-provincial city is 10,635,971. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural and communications hub in Northeast China.
Harbin is originally a Manchu word meaning "a place for drying fishing nets." It is known for its bitterly cold winters and is often called the "Ice City." Lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River, Harbin is well known for its beautiful ice sculptures in winter and its Russian legacy and still plays an important part in Sino-Russian trade today. In the 1920s, the city was considered China's fashion capital as new designs from Paris and Moscow reached there first before arriving in Shanghai.

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Hebei
Coordinates: 39°18′N 116°42′E / 39.3°N 116.7°E / 39.3; 116.7
Hebei (help·info) (Chinese: 河北; pinyin: Héběi; Postal map spelling: Hopeh) is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "冀" (jì), named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei means "north of the river", referring to its location completely above the Yellow River.
In 1928, Hebei was formed after the central government dissolved the province of Chih-li (直隸), which means "Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court)".
Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, which border each other, were carved out of Hebei. The province borders Liaoning to the northeast, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, and Shandong to the southeast. Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, an exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.

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Hefei
Hefei (Chinese: 合肥, p Héféi, w Ho-fei) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province in Eastern China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Anhui. Located in the central portion of the province, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Chaohu to the southeast and Lu'an to the west.
Hefei has an area of 7,048 km² and, as of 2010 Census, a population of 5,702,466 inhabitants. Its built-up area ("metro") is home to 3,352,076 inhabitants encompassing all urban districts.
From the 8th to the 6th century BC, Hefei was the site of many small states, later a part of the Chu kingdom. Many archaeological finds dating from this period have been made. The name Hefei was first given to the county set up in the area under the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC. During the 4th to the 6th century AD, this crucial border region between northern and southern states was much fought over; its name and administrative status were consequently often changed. During the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) periods, it became the seat of Lu prefecture — a title it kept until the 15th century, when it became a superior prefecture named Luzhou.

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Himalaya Mountains
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains ( /ˌhɪməˈleɪ.ə/ or /hɪˈmɑːləjə/;Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya, is a mountain range immediately to the north of the Indian subcontinent. By extension, it can also refer to the massive mountain system that additionally includes the Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and other lesser ranges that extend out from the Pamir Knot. Some of the world's major river systems arise in the Himalayas, and their combined drainage basins are home to some 3 billion people (almost half of the Earth's population) in 18 countries. The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Geologically, the Himalayas originate from the northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate at 15 cm^{[citation needed]} per year to impact the Eurasian continent, with first contact about 70 million years ago, and with movement continuing today. This caused the formation of the Himalayan arc peaks: the lighter rocks of the seabeds of that time were easily uplifted into mountains. An often-cited fact used to illustrate this process is that the summit of Mount Everest is made of marine limestone.

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Hohhot
Hohhot (Mongolian: , Chinese: 呼和浩特; pinyin: Hūhéhàotè, abbreviated Hū Shì (Chinese: 呼市); also romanized as Huhehot or Huhhot), is a city in north-central China and the capital of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, serving as the region's administrative, economic, and cultural centre.
The city was founded by Mongol ruler Altan Khan in the late 16th century. It was chosen as the region's administrative centre in 1952, replacing Ulanhot. A city with a rich cultural background, Hohhot is known for its historical sites and temples and is one of the major tourist destinations of Inner Mongolia. It is also nationally known as the home of China's dairy giants Mengniu and Yili, and was declared "Dairy Capital of China" by the China Dairy Industry Association and the Dairy Association of China in 2005.
The name of the city in Mongolian means "Blue City." The color blue in Mongolian culture is associated with the sky, eternity and purity; in Chinese, the name can be translated as Qīng Chéng (Chinese: 青城), literally, "Blue/Green City."

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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km² (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.

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Horru
Horru is a village in Damxung County in the Lhasa Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies just to the east of Damxung and is connected directly by road.

Coordinates: 30°30′N 91°29′E / 30.5°N 91.483°E / 30.5; 91.483

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Hubei
Hubei (help·info) (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: Húběi; Wade–Giles: Hu-pei; Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting. The provincial capital is Wuhan.
Hubei is officially abbreviated to "鄂" (È), an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin dynasty, while a popular name for Hubei is "楚" (Chǔ), after the powerful state of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province.
By the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC), the territory of today's Hubei was part of the powerful state of Chu. Chu was nominally a tributary state of the Zhou Dynasty, and it was itself an extension of the Chinese civilization that had emerged some centuries before in the north; but it was also culturally unique, and was a powerful state that held onto much of the middle and lower Yangtze River, with power extending northwards into the North China Plain.

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India
India (ⁱ/ˈɪndiə/), officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.
Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four of the world's major religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom from the mid-19th century, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

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Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E / 44; 113
Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s , Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ, but officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.

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Israel
Coordinates: 31°N 35°E / 31°N 35°E / 31; 35
Israel, officially the State of Israel ( /ˈɪzriːəl/ or /ˈɪzreɪəl/; Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל‎, Medīnat Yisrā'el, IPA: [me̞diˈnät jisʁäˈʔe̞l] ( listen); Arabic: دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل‎, Dawlat Isrāʼīl, IPA: [dawlat ʔisraːˈʔiːl]), is a parliamentary republic in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the West Bank in the east, Egypt and the Gaza Strip on the southwest, and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea to the south, and it contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel is defined as a Jewish and Democratic State in its Basic Laws and is the world's only Jewish-majority state.
Following the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 29 November 1947 recommending the adoption and implementation of the United Nations plan to partition Palestine, on 14 May 1948 David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel, a state independent from the British Mandate for Palestine. Neighboring Arab states invaded the next day in support of the Palestinian Arabs. Israel has since fought several wars with neighboring Arab states, in the course of which it has occupied the West Bank, Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights. Portions of these territories, including east Jerusalem, have been annexed by Israel, but the border with the neighboring West Bank has not yet been permanently defined.^{[neutrality is disputed]} Israel has signed peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but efforts to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict have so far not resulted in peace.

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Jilin City
Jilin City (Chinese: 吉林市; pinyin: Jílín Shì, Manchu: ᡤᡳᡵᡳᠨ ᡥᠣᡨᠣᠨ, Girin Hoton) is the second-largest city and former capital of Jilin province in Northeast China. As of the 2010 census, 4,414,681 people resided within its administrative area of 27,120 square kilometres (10,470 sq mi) and 1,975,803 in its built-up area consisting of 4 urban districts. A prefecture-level city, it is the only major city in China that shares its name with its province.
Jilin City is also known as the River City because of the Songhua River surrounding much of the city. In 2007, it hosted the Asian Winter Games.

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Jinan
Coordinates: 36°40′N 116°59′E / 36.667°N 116.983°E / 36.667; 116.983
Jinan (Chinese: 济南; pinyin: Jǐnán; Mandarin pronunciation: [t͡ɕi˧˩nan˧˥];) is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city, which holds sub-provincial administrative status, is located in north-western Shandong about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the national capital of Beijing, it borders Liaocheng to the southwest, Dezhou to the northwest, Binzhou to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Laiwu to the southeast, and Tai'an to the south.

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Jokang
The Jokhang, (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Wylie: Jo-khang, ZYPY: Qokang; Chinese: 大昭寺; pinyin: Dàzhāosì), also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang; also Tsuklakang), is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.
It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.

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Jokhang
The Jokhang, (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Wylie: Jo-khang, ZYPY: Qokang; Chinese: 大昭寺; pinyin: Dàzhāosì), also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang; also Tsuklakang), is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.
It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.

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Jokhang Temple
The Jokhang, (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Wylie: Jo-khang, ZYPY: Qokang; Chinese: 大昭寺; pinyin: Dàzhāosì), also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang; also Tsuklakang), is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.
It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.

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Jomda County
Jomda County, (Tibetan: འཇོ་མདའ་རྫོང་ Wylie 'jo mda' rdzong; Chinese: 江达县; Pinyin: Jiāngdá Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Coordinates: 32°43′12″N 97°57′09″E / 32.72°N 97.9525°E / 32.72; 97.9525

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Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia (Russian: Респу́блика Калмы́кия, tr. Respublika Kalmykiya; IPA: [rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə kɐlˈmɨkʲɪjə]; Kalmyk: Хальмг Таңһч, Hal'mg Tanghch) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). Population: 289,481 (2010 Census).
It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Kalmykia is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.
Major rivers include:
Kalmykia is located on the shores of the Caspian Sea. In general, there are very few lakes on the territory of the republic. The biggest lakes include:
Kalmykia's natural resources include coal, oil, and natural gas.
The republic's wildlife includes the famous saiga antelope, whose habitat is protected in Cherny Zemli Nature Reserve.
Kalmykia has a continental climate, with very hot and dry summers and cold winters with little snow.
The ancestors of the Kalmyks, the Oirats, migrated from the steppes of southern Siberia on the banks of the Irtysh River to the Lower Volga region. Various reasons have been given for the move, but the generally accepted answer is that the Kalmyks sought abundant pastures for their herds. Another motivation may have been to escape the growing dominance of the neighboring Dzungar Mongol tribe. They reached the lower Volga region in or about 1630. That land, however, was not uncontested pastures, but rather the homeland of the Nogai Horde, a confederation of Turkic-speaking nomadic tribes. The Kalmyks expelled the Nogais who fled to the Caucasian plains and to the Crimean Khanate, areas under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Some Nogai groups sought the protection of the Russian garrison at Astrakhan. The remaining nomadic Mongol Oirats tribes became vassals of Kalmyk Khan.

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Kangmar County
Kangmar County (Chinese: 康马县; Pinyin: Kāngmǎ Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Gala Co lake is located in Kangmar County.

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Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The city covers an area of 15 km². The altitude averages 1,289 m/4,282 ft. above sea level. The city is located in the western extremity of China, near the border with Tajikistan.
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasia”. The name is Middle Iranic in its origin, meaning "Kush Mountains" (from gar/ghar, "mountain", and Kush/Kâsh, being the same as the ethnonym of the Kushan Empire and the Hindukush mountains in the neighboring Afghanistan.
An early Chinese name was 疏勒 (now Shule County), variously romanized as Su-leh, Sulei, Shule, Shu-le', She-le, Shu-lo or Sha-le, which perhaps represents either an original Solek or Sorak.^{[citation needed]}

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Keutsang Hermitage
Keutsang Hermitage (ke’u tshang) is a historical hermitage, belonging to the Sera Monastery, about 8 kilometres (26,000 ft) northwest of Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region. The hermitage was in a precariously perched cave once inhabited by the great Tibetan guru Tsongkhapa. However, the original cave collapsed in a land slide. What is present now was rebuilt, adjoining the ruined Keutsang West Hermitage, at a safer location. As it exists now, Keutsang is located to the east of Sera on a hill side above Lhasa’s principal cemetery. Rakhadrak Hermitage is located above this hermitage, within a close distance.
This hermitage is one of the pilgrim sites on the Sera Mountain Circumambulation Circuit (se ra’i ri ’khor) of the ‘Sixth-Month Fourth-Day (drug pa tshe bzhi)’ celebrations that devotees visit.
The word ‘Keutsang’ spelt ke’u tshang denotes “cave,” “cavern,” or “overhang.” Thus, the 'hermitage' is pre-fixed with this word suggesting that it was a cave monastery.
Keutsang monastery is situated in deep ravines to the east of Sera on a hill side above Lhasa’s principal cemetery.

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Khardo Hermitage
Khardo Hermitage is a historical hermitage in Tibet, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa, in the Dodé Valley.
The Tibetan and Himalayan Library

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Kolkata
Kolkata /kɒlˈkætə/, or Calcutta /kælˈkʌtə/, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. As of 2008, its economic output as measured by gross domestic product ranked third among South Asian cities, behind Mumbai and Delhi. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing country, Kolkata confronts substantial urban pollution, traffic congestion, poverty, overpopulation, and other logistic and socioeconomic problems.
In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the Nawab of Bengal under Mughal suzerainty. After the Nawab granted the East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Nawab Siraj ud-Daulah occupied Kolkata in 1756, and the East India Company retook it in the following year and by 1772 assumed full sovereignty. Under East India Company and later under the British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to New Delhi. The city was a centre of the Indian independence movement; it remains a hotbed of contemporary state politics. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, an economic rejuvenation has led to accelerated growth.

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Kunggar
Kunggar or Maizhokunggar is a small town and township and seat of Maizhokunggar County in the Lhasa Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is especially noted for its pottery, which non-corrodible, heat retaining and in an ethnic style. It has an over 1000-year-old history.
Coordinates: 29°50′N 91°44′E / 29.833°N 91.733°E / 29.833; 91.733

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Kunming
Kunming (Chinese: 昆明, pinyin: Kūnmíng; UN/LOCODE: CNKMG) is the capital and largest city of Yunnan (云南) Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou (云南府, Yúnnánfǔ) until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government. It is also home to several universities, museums, galleries and other important economic, cultural, and educational institutions. The headquarters of many of Yunnan's large businesses are in Kunming as well. It was important during World War II as a Chinese military center, American air base, and transport terminus for the Burma Road. Located in the middle of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Kunming is located at an altitude of 1,900 m above sea level and at a latitude just north of the Tropic of Cancer. It covers an area of 21,473 square kilometres (8,291 sq mi) and its urban area covers 2,081 km² (803 sq mi). Kunming has population of 6,432,212 including 3,055,000 in the urban area and is located at the northern edge of the large Lake Dian, surrounded by temples and lake-and-limestone hill landscapes.

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Kyi Chu
(the main article is in German)
The Kyi river (Tibetan: སྐྱིད་ཆུ་, Wylie: sKyid chu) alias Lhasa river is a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.
Coordinates: 29°20′27″N 90°45′38″E / 29.34083°N 90.76056°E / 29.34083; 90.76056

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Kyi River
(the main article is in German)
The Kyi river (Tibetan: སྐྱིད་ཆུ་, Wylie: sKyid chu) alias Lhasa river is a northern tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet.
Coordinates: 29°20′27″N 90°45′38″E / 29.34083°N 90.76056°E / 29.34083; 90.76056

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Ladakh
Ladakh (Wylie: la-dwags, Ladakhi [lad̪ɑks], Hindi: लद्दाख़, Urdu: لدّاخ [ləd̪ˈd̪aːx]; "land of high passes") is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in the control of the Republic of India. It is however disputed territory between Pakistan and India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Historically, the region included the Baltistan (Baltiyul) valleys, the Indus Valley, the remote Zangskar, Lahaul and Spiti to the south, Aksai Chin and Ngari, including the Rudok region and Guge, in the east, and the Nubra valleys to the north.
Contemporary Ladakh borders Tibet to the east, the Lahaul and Spiti to the south, the Vale of Kashmir, Jammu and Baltiyul regions to the west, and the trans–Kunlun territory of Xinjiang to the far north. Ladakh is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture. It is sometimes called "Little Tibet" as it has been strongly influenced by Tibetan culture.

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Lanzhou
Lanzhou (simplified Chinese: 兰州; traditional Chinese: 蘭州; pinyin: Lánzhōu; Postal map spelling: Lanchow) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. A prefecture-level city, it is a key regional transportation hub, allowing areas further west to maintain railroad connections to the eastern half of the country. Lanzhou is home to 3,616,163 inhabitants at the 2010 census and 2,177,130 in the built-up area (urban) on 1,088 km².
Originally in the territory of the Western Qiang peoples, Lanzhou became part of the territory of Qin (state) in the 6th century BC.
In 81 BC, under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), it was taken from the Huns' Huandi Chanyu and made the seat of Jincheng commandery (jùn), and later of the Jincheng county (xiàn), later renamed Yunwu. The city used to be called the Golden City, and since at least the first millennium BC it was a major link on the ancient Northern Silk Road, and also an important historic Yellow River crossing site. To protect the city, the Great Wall of China was extended as far as Yumen.

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Lhari County
Lhari County (Chinese: 嘉黎县; Pinyin: Jiālí Xiàn; Tibetan ལྷ་རི་རྫོང་, Wylie lha ri rdzong) is a small county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region
The 11th Dalai Lama was born in Lhari County, as were both of the rival candidates for the position of the current Panchen Lama.
The county contains the following township-level divisions and principal settlements:
Coordinates: 31°05′22″N 92°54′02″E / 31.08944°N 92.90056°E / 31.08944; 92.90056

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Lhasa
Lhasa ( /ˈlɑːsə/, Tibetan: ལྷ་ས་གྲོང་ཁྱིར།, ZYPY: Lhasa Chongkyir, [l̥ásə] or [l̥ɜ́ːsə]; simplified Chinese: 拉萨; traditional Chinese: 拉薩; pinyin: Lāsà; sometimes spelled Lasa) is the administrative capital and a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining, and at an altitude of 3,490 metres (11,450 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang temple and Norbulingka palaces, many of which are located in Chengguan District, the city seat.
Lhasa literally means "place of the gods". Ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa, which either meant "goats' place", or, as a contraction of rawe sa, a "place surrounded by a wall," or 'enclosure', suggesting that the site was originally a hunting preserve within the royal residence on Marpori Hill. Lhasa is first recorded as the name, referring to the area's temple of Jowo, in a treaty drawn up between China and Tibet in 822 C.E.

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Lhasa Hotel
Lhasa Hotel is one of the modern accommodation settlements built in the holy city of Lhasa, Tibet, a 4-star hotel at an altitude of 3600m. It is located northeast of Norbu Lingka.
Completed in September 1985 it is located near Norbulingka in the western suburbs of the city and is the flagship of CITS's installations in Tibet. It accommodates about 1000 guests and visitors to Lhasa.
Lhasa Hotel is one of the few international 4-star hotels in Tibet. There are over 450 rooms (suites) in the hotel, and all are equipped with air conditioning, mini-bar and other basic facilities. Some of the rooms are decorated in traditional Tibetan style.

Coordinates: 29°39′29″N 91°05′41″E / 29.65806°N 91.09472°E / 29.65806; 91.09472

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Lhorong County
Lhorong County, (Tibetan: ལྷོ་རོང་རྫོང་ Wylie lho rong rdzong; Chinese: 洛隆县; Pinyin: Luòlóng Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The county covers an area of 8108 square kilometers and has a population of around 40,000 as of 2003.The word Lhorong means "valley in the south" or "river in the south" in Tibetan.
Lhorong County is located in the northeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region, in the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and contains some 100 kilometres of the Nu River (Salween River).The Nu River flows through Tibet into Sichuan into Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County of Yunnan Province. It later flows through Lushui County and into Burma, eventually into the Indian Ocean. Lhorong County lies to the south-west of the Qamdo Prefecture. Banbar County lies to the northwest, Baxoi County lies across the river to the east, Banbar County to the west, Dêngqên County to the north, and Riwoqê County to the northeast. From east to west the county is 127 kilometers and from north to south the greatest distance of is 105 kilometres. A county has a total area of 8048.4 square kikometres. The total population is around 36,000 people (1999), with estimates in 2003 being around 40,000. Other rivers of Lhorong County include the Jalan Song, Maqu, and the Zhuoma Lang. The county also contains numerous small lakes which the locals compare to 21 fairies.

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Lhozhag County
Lhozhag County, (Tibetan: ལྷོ་བྲག་རྫོང་, Wylie: lho brag rdzong, Chinese: 洛扎县; Pinyin: Luòzhā Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture located in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region,
Coordinates: 28°23′46″N 91°07′50″E / 28.39611°N 91.13056°E / 28.39611; 91.13056

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Lhünzhub
Lhünzhub is a town and capital of Lhünzhub County in the Lhasa Prefecture of Tibet, China. It is located northeast of Lhasa.

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Lhünzhub County
Lhünzhub or Linzhou (Tibetan: ལྷུན་གྲུབ་རྫོང་; Wylie: lhun grub rdzong; simplified Chinese: 林周县; pinyin: Línzhōu Xiàn) is a county towards the north-east of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet.
It has a population of 50,895 people as of 2000.
Lhünzhub County is located in central Tibet in the Peng Po Valley, around 65 km northeast of Lhasa. It covered an area of 4512 square kilometers in 2003 and the county was established in 1857. The county was reorganized to cover more territory in 1959. The Nyainqentanglha Mountains passes through the county across the central Tibetan plateau, and eventually spread for about 600 km from west to east, beyond even the Lhasa Prefecture.
Lhünzhub has a cool dry climate with an annual temperature ranging on average between 2.9 and 5.8 degrees celsius, and the main river is the Lhasa River flowing through the Peng Po Valley, with an average elevation of 3860 meters. Natural disasters such as floods, landslides, drought, hail, avalanches etc. are common.
As of 2000, Lhünzhub County has jurisdiction over one town (Lhünzhub)and 9 townships.

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Lhünzê County
Lhünzê County, (Tibetan: ལྷུན་རྩེ་རྫོང་, Wylie: lhun rtse rdzong; Chinese: 隆子县; pinyin: Lóngzǐ Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture located in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region,

Coordinates: 28°49′56″N 93°16′25″E / 28.83222°N 93.27361°E / 28.83222; 93.27361

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Lianyungang
Lianyungang (simplified Chinese: 连云港; traditional Chinese: 連雲港; pinyin: Liányúngǎng) is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its name derives from Lian Island (formally Dongxilian Island) the largest island in Jiangsu Province which lies off its coastline, and Yuntai Mountain, the highest peak in Jiangsu Province, a few miles from its town center, and the fact that it is a port.
Lianyungang (as Yuntai Mountain) was known in the West as Haichow (Wade-Giles romanization). This was one of the four original ports opened up for foreign trade in the 1680s by the Qing Dynasty Government. The others were Ningbo, Xiamen and Guangzhou.
Lianyungang is situated between 118°24' and 119°48' east longitude and 34°11' and 35°07' north latitude. Lianyungang covers an area of 7,777 km².
The temperature in Lianyungang can reach average highs of 30°C in the summer and drop to as low as -4°C in the winter. The vast majority of precipitation occurs between June and August, where it can measure up to 278mm of rainfall on average. Winter precipitation is quite low, making snowfall both rare and short-lived.

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Liaoning
Coordinates: 41°06′N 122°18′E / 41.1°N 122.3°E / 41.1; 122.3
Liaoning (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 辽宁; traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng; Manchu: ᠯᡳᠶᠣᠣ ᠨᡳᠩ, Liyoo ning) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" (pinyin: liáo), a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace". The modern province was established in 1907 as Fengtian province (奉天 pinyin: Fèngtiān; Postal map spelling: Fengtien; Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ ᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠩᡤᠠ, Abkai imiyangga) and the name was changed to Liaoning in 1929. Under the Japanese puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its 1907 name, but the name Liaoning was restored in 1945.
Liaoning is located in the southern part of the Northeast, and is often called "the Golden Triangle" because of its superior geographical location, with the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and the Bohai Sea in the south, North Korea in the southeast, Jilin province to the northeast, Hebei province to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. The Yalu River marks the border between North Korea and the province. It empties into the Korea Bay between Dandong, Liaoning and Sinŭiju, North Korea.

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Macau
Coordinates: 22°10′N 113°33′E / 22.167°N 113.55°E / 22.167; 113.55
Macau (Chinese: 澳門), also spelled Macao ( /məˈkaʊ/), is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong-Kong which is to the east, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and is both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer. Macau was first lent by the Chinese empire as a trading port in the 16th century, and had to administer the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty. In 1887, Macau became a colony of the Portuguese empire and its sovereignty transferred to the Portuguese.

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Mainling County
Mainling County (Tibetan: ཀོང་པོ་རྒྱ་མདའ་རྫོང་, Wylie: sman gling rdzong; Chinese: 米林县; pinyin: Mǐlín Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingtri Prefecture in eastern Tibet Autonomous Region.
Mainling County is located in the central-west of the Nyingtri Prefecture, at the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, and between the Nyenchen Tanglha Mountains and the Himalayan Mountains. It covers an area of 9,471 square kilometres. The average altitude is 3,700 metres above sea level.
The mine resources of the county are gold dust, plaster, limestone, chromium and iron, etc.
The main economy style in Mainling County is farming and forest industry. The main species of the trees are fir, spruce, pine, oak, and cypress, etc. The total cumulation volume of woods is 40 million cubic metres. The special fruit productions are apples, apple pears, walnuts and peaches.
In 1999 the county had a population of 17347 inhabitants .
The county is home to the Lhoba people.
Coordinates: 29°36′00.00″N 94°12′07.20″E / 29.6°N 94.202°E / 29.6; 94.202

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Maizhokunggar
Kunggar or Maizhokunggar is a small town and township and seat of Maizhokunggar County in the Lhasa Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is especially noted for its pottery, which non-corrodible, heat retaining and in an ethnic style. It has an over 1000-year-old history.
Coordinates: 29°50′N 91°44′E / 29.833°N 91.733°E / 29.833; 91.733

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Maizhokunggar County
Maizhokunggar (Tibetan: མལ་གྲོ་གུང་དཀར་རྫོང་; Wylie: Mal-gro-gung-dkar rdzong; simplified Chinese: 墨竹工卡县; pinyin: Mòzhúgōngkǎ Xiàn) is a county east of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet. The country is especially noted for its pottery, particularly Kunggar Township. The pottery is non-corrodible, heat retaining and in an ethnic style. It has an over 1000-year-old history.
Maizhokunggar means "The Place Where Medro King has lived" in the Tibetan language.The county is located in the valley of the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. The average altitude of the county is above 4000 metres and the main natural resources are gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and marble etc.
There are 34 temples in the county and many hot springs. Main towns and villages include Kunggar and Zaxoi.
The Sichuan-Tibet Road (China National Highway 318) runs through the county. There are over 70 roads in the county. The total length of the roads are 650 kilometres.
Coordinates: 30°09′36″N 92°09′29″E / 30.16°N 92.15806°E / 30.16; 92.15806

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Markam County
Markham County, (Tibetan: སྨར་ཁམས་རྫོང་ Wylie smar khams rdzong; Chinese: 芒康县; Pinyin: Mángkāng Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Coordinates: 30°34′35″N 98°58′29″E / 30.57639°N 98.97472°E / 30.57639; 98.97472

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Mêdog County
Mêdog County, (Tibetan: པདྨ་བཀོད་ Wylie me tog rdzong; Chinese: 墨脱县; Pinyin: Mòtuō Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingtri Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China. Chinese claims include parts of Arunachal Pradesh, south of the McMahon Line, what was casus belli for the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Medog County or Metok is located in the southeast of the Tibet Autonomous Region and at the lower branch of Yarlung Tsangpo River. Medog County covers an area of 30,553 square kilometres. The average altitude of the county is 1200 metres above sea level.་Metok county is also called Pemakö. The route for hiking to Medog: Paizhen(派镇)-Songlinkou(松林口)-Lage(拉格)-Hanmi(汗密)-Aniqiao(阿尼桥)-Beibengxiang(背崩)-Modog(墨脱)
In December, 2010 the Chinese government announced completion of a highway to Mêdog County, the last county in China which did not have road access.
Farming is the main industry in Medog County. It is abundant with paddy, soybean, cotton and gingeli, etc. Hairy deerhorn, gastrodia tuber, muskiness, and hedgehog hydnum, etc. are special products of the area.

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Nagarzê County
Nagarzê County (Tibetan: སྣ་དཀར་རྩེ་རྫོང་, Wylie: sna dkar rtse rdzong, Chinese: 浪卡子县; Pinyin: Làngkǎzǐ Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture located in the south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Yarlung Tsangpo river dominates the county.
Coordinates: 28°51′03″N 90°55′21″E / 28.85083°N 90.9225°E / 28.85083; 90.9225

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Nagchu County
Nagqu County (Tibetan script: ནག་ཆུ་རྫོང་།; Chinese: 那曲县) is a county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, western People's Republic of China. The name of the county in the Tibetan language means "black river".
Located in the northern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Nagqu County ranges in latitude from 30° 31' to 31° 55' N and in longitude from 91° 12' to 93° 02' E. Bordering counties within Nagqu Prefecture are Lhari to the southeast, Biru to the east, Nyainrong to the northeast, Amdo to the northwest, and Baingoin to the west, while Lhasa City, the regional capital, is to the south.
With an elevation of around 4,500 metres (14,800 ft), Nagqu has a harsh, alpine climate (Köppen EH), with long, very cold and dry winters, and short, cool summers. In winter, temperatures frequently drop below −20 °C (−4 °F) at night and in summer typically rise to 16 °C (61 °F) during the day. Monthly daily mean temperatures range from −12.6 °C (9.3 °F) in January to 9.0 °C (48.2 °F) in July, and the annual mean is only −1.17 °C (29.9 °F). From June to September, a majority of the days receives some precipitation, and over 80% of the annual precipitation is delivered.

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Nagqu Prefecture
Nagqu Prefecture (also Naqu or Nagchu); Tibetan: ནག་ཆུ་ས་ཁུལ་; Wylie: Nag-chu Sa-khul; simplified Chinese: 那曲地区; pinyin: Nàqū Dìqū) is the largest prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Nagqu has a total area of 450,537 km². The prefecture is divided into 11 different counties and Nagchu County contains the capital of Nagqu.
Nagqu is expected to have the world's highest altitude airport by 2011 at 4,436 meters above sea level. It will be named Nagqu Dagring Airport. Nagqu was chosen to host the largest logistics center in the plateau region, which began operations in August 2009. Nagqu is also on the Qinghai-Tibet railway line. It is expected to become the center of an economic hub in the plateau region. Nagqu has a population of 400,000.[1]

Coordinates: 31°30′N 92°00′E / 31.5°N 92°E / 31.5; 92

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Namco, Tibet
Namco is a town and township in Damxung County in the Lhasa Prefecture of Tibet. It means something like "Heaven Lake". It was established in 1960 and became a township in 1970. Is located in the north of Damxung county. The economy is based on animal husbandry, mainly shepherding goats, sheep, cattle, horses etc.

Coordinates: 30°55′N 91°07′E / 30.917°N 91.117°E / 30.917; 91.117

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Namling County
Namling County (Chinese: 南木林县; Pinyin: Nánmùlín Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Coordinates: 29°53′07″N 89°26′10″E / 29.88528°N 89.43611°E / 29.88528; 89.43611

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Nanchang
Nanchang (Chinese: 南昌; pinyin: Nánchāng) is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites. Owing to its central location relative to the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions, it is a major railroad hub in Southern China.
The modern Jiangxi area – including Nanchang – was first incorporated into Chinese territory during the Qin dynasty, when it was conquered from the Baiyue peoples and organized as Jiujiang Commandery (Chinese: 九江郡). In 201 BC, during the Han dynasty, the city was given the Chinese name Nanchang and became the administrative seat of Yuzhang Commandery (Chinese: 豫章郡), and was governed by Guan Ying (Chinese: 灌嬰), one of Emperor Gaozu of Han's generals. The name Nanchang means "southern flourishing", and is from a motto of developing what is now southern China that is traditionally attributed to Emperor Gaozu himself.

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Nang County
Nang County, (Tibetan: ཀོང་པོ་རྒྱ་མདའ་རྫོང་, Wylie: snang rdzong; Chinese: 朗县; pinyin: Lǎng Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingtri Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region,
Coordinates: 29°17′40″N 93°22′30″E / 29.29444°N 93.375°E / 29.29444; 93.375

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Nanjing
Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng; Wade–Giles: Nan-ching) is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions. Its present name means "Southern Capital" and was widely romanized as Nankin and Nanking until the Pinyin language reform, after which Nanjing was gradually adopted as the standard spelling of the city's name in most languages that use the Roman alphabet.
Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has long been one of China's most important cities. It is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It was the capital of Sun Quan's Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period and the capital of the Republic of China prior to its flight to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. Nanjing has long been a national center of education, research, transport networks, and tourism. The city will host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

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Nanning
Nanning (simplified Chinese: 南宁; traditional Chinese: 南寧; pinyin: Nánníng, Zhuang: Namzningz, meaning 'South Tranquility') is the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush tropical foliage.
A county seat called Jinxing was first established at the site in AD 318. This became the administrative seat of a commandery. Nanning was once the territory of the Baiyue people and became the capital of Jinxing Prefecture which was separated from Yulin Prefecture of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
In 589 the Jinxing commandery was dissolved, and the county was renamed Xuanhua. Under the Tang dynasty (618–907) the prefecture of Yong (邕州Yongzhou) was established there; it was garrisoned to control the non-Chinese districts in Guangxi and on the Yunnan–Guizhou provincial border. In the mid-9th century the Tang and the Yunnan state of Nanzhao fought over it, and after 861 it was briefly occupied by Nanzhao. It remained a frontier prefecture throughout the Song dynasty (960–1279), being the scene of a rebellion led by Nong Zhigao in 1052 and thereafter a garrison town.

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Nantong
Nantong (Chinese: 南通; pinyin: Nántōng; former names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: [nie tʰoŋ]) is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth, Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north, Taizhou to the west, Suzhou and Shanghai to the south across the river, and the East China Sea to the east. The population is 7,282,835 at the 2010 census whom 1,994,708 live in the built up area made of 3 urban districts.
The prefecture-level city of Nantong administers 8 county-level divisions, including 3 districts and 3 county-level cities and 2 counties.
These are further divided into 146 township-level divisions.
Because the coast of the East China Sea is constantly moving eastward as the Yangtze River adds silt to its delta, the distance between Nantong and the seashore is getting farther than the one in ancient times. From the time of the Han dynasty through to the Tang dynasty, what is now called Nantong was a minor county subordinate to Yangzhou. By 958 AD a city of sufficient importance had developed for a new, independent prefecture called Tongzhou ("Opening Prefecture", possibly from its position near the mouth of the Yangtse) to be created. The increasing wealth of Yangzhou caused Tongzhou to be once again eclipsed as an administrative centre in 1368. When Tongzhou finally regained prefecture status in 1724, it was renamed Nantong ("Southern Tong") to avoid confusion with another Tongzhou, located near Beijing.

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Nechung
Nechung Monastery, Nechung Gompa (Tibetan: གནས་ཆུང་དགོན་པ།, Wylie: gnas-chung lcog, ZYPY: Naiqung Gönba) or Nechung Chok (Tibetan: གནས་ཆུང་དགོན།, ZYPY: Naiqung Jog "the small dwelling", Chinese: 乃琼寺), is the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet.
It is also referred to as Sungi Gyelpoi Tsenkar, the "Demon Fortress of the Oracle King."
It is about 10 minutes walk down from Drepung Monastery, and was the residence of the three-headed, six-armed Pehar, the chief protector of the Gelugs (Yellow Hat sect) and the seat of the State Oracle or Nechung Oracle. It is medium-sized temple which used to house about a hundred monks.
It was the seat of State Oracle until 1959 when he fled with the Dalai Lama to India who now lives in exile in Dharamsala, India. The Dalai Lamas traditionally always consulted him before making an important decision.
It was the residence of the Protector Pehar, a deity of the Horpas, who lived to the east of (Lake) Kokonor. According to tradition, he is held to have been originally brought to Samye Monastery by Padmasambhava who bound him to protect the dharma. An alternative story is that he was brought back by a Bon general, Tara Lugong, who took possession of the meditation school near Kanchow of the Bhaţa Hor, a tribe of Uighurs, about the end of the 8th century CE. Pehar was regarded as the guardian deity of the treasures of Samye Monastery and, later, as the 'protector of religion'.

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Negodong Nunnery
Negodong Nunnery is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located in the northeastern Lhasa suburb known as Dodé Valley (Dog bde), northeast of Sera, Tibet. Buddhist scholar of the Sera Jé College’s (Grwa tshang byes) Gomdé Regional House (Sgom sde khang tshan), Nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan. It was initially founded as a monastery with seventeen monks but later allotted for exclusive use as nunnery to provide personal security to the nuns who were then residing in a remote nunnery at Gnas nang (higher valley to the east), away from the present location at Gnas sgo gdong (about an hour's walk).
The nunnery situated in a mountainous landscape has assigned religious significance to each of the hills surrounding it. The black rocky mountain, in the shape of a triangle, to the east of the nunnery, is said to represent the protector deity of the nunnery, Lha mo nyi gzhon. This mountain is also credited as the “Three Great Mountains” (Ri chen gsum) on the periphery of Lhasa. The Northern boundary of the nunnery is known as the Soul-Mountain of Juniper Forests” (Shug pa’i nags bla ri), for the reason that juniper trees were in abundance here (higher slopes of the mountain still have some juniper trees). Two other hill peaks were used to hoist religious flags and to make burnt junifer offerings on the third day of the Tibetan New Year. The water sources sourced here are two springs with the names, the Ravine Spring (Grog mo chu mig) and the Sound-Catcher (or Ear) Spring (Sgra ’dzin chu mig) which are stated to have some curative properties.

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Nenang Nunnery
Nenang Nunnery (Nenang GönpaGnas nang dgon pa) is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located west of Lhasa in the surrounding Doilungdêqên County in Tibet. Nenang is the seat of the Pawo Rimpoches.
The nunnery is located at the end of a valley, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Lhasa. Above Nenang, is the Tsurphu Monastery, a monastery which served as the traditional seat of the Karmapa. A river runs through the valley. It is the location of a quarry from where aggregates are carried to Lhasa for building construction, which is raising environmental concerns. As in the case of hermitages and nunneries located in the mountainous terrain with immense religiosity is associated with it. Thus, the peak surrounding this nunnery is called the Glorious Copper-Coloured Mountain (Zangs mdog dpal ri), which is the name of Padmasambhava’s celestial palace, as the location was associated with Padmasambhava (Padma’byung gnas). Two large caves here were Padmasambhava’s meditation caves (sgrub phug). Another set of caves, on the hills opposite to the hermitage (ri khrod) were caves of the Sixteen Arhats (gnas brtan bcu drug). These sites are all now in total ruins. It is therefore said to even accept that a live and active hermitage existed here in the past.

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Ngamring County
Ngamring County (Chinese: 昂仁县; Pinyin: Ángrén Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The office place of the county is located in Kagar (卡嘎).

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Ningbo
Ningbo (Chinese: 宁波; pinyin: Níngbō (help·info); Ningbo dialect: Nyin-poh/Nyin-pou (help·info)) is a seaport city in the northeast of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status and separate state-planning status, as of the 2010 census, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants, 3,491,000 of whom reside in the urban area which comprises 6 districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay, facing the East China Sea to the east. Ningbo borders Shaoxing to the west and Taizhou to the south, and is separated from Zhoushan by a narrow body of water.
The first character in the city's name (宁 or 寧) means "serene", while its second character (波) translates to "waves". Together, the name literally means "Serene Waves". The city is abbreviated Yǒng (甬), after the Yong Hill (甬山), a prominent coastal hill near the city, like the Yong River (甬江) that flows through Ningbo. The abbreviation Ning is used more commonly for Nanjing.
It was once named "明州" (Míngzhōu). The character Ming (明) was composed by two parts, representing two lakes inside the city wall, i.e., the Sun Lake (日湖) and the Moon Lake (月湖), but only Moon Lake remains.

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Norbulingka
Norbulingka (Tibetan: ནོར་བུ་གླིང་ཀ་; Wylie: Nor-bu-gling-ka; simplified Chinese: 罗布林卡; traditional Chinese: 羅布林卡; literally "The Jewelled Park") is a palace and surrounding park in Lhasa, Tibet, built from 1755. It served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until the 14th Dalai Lama's exile in 1959. Part of the "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace", Norbulingka is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was added as an extension of this Historic Ensemble in 2001. It was built by the 7th Dalai Lama and served both as administrative centre and religious centre. It is a unique representation of Tibetan palace architecture.
Norbulingka Palace is situated in the west side of Lhasa, a short distance to the southwest of Potala Palace. Norbulingka covers an area of around 36 hectares (89 acres) and considered to be the largest man made garden in Tibet.
Norbulingka park is considered the premier park of all such horticultural parks in similar ethnic settings in Tibet. During the summer and autumn months, the parks in Tibet, including the Norbulinga, become hubs of entertainment with dancing, singing, music and festivities. The park is where the annual Sho Dun or 'Yoghurt Festival' is held.

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Nyainqêntanglha
Nyenchen Tanglha or Nyainqêntanglha (Tibetan: གཉན་ཆེན་ཐང་ལྷ་, Wylie: Gnyan-chen-thang-lha; Chinese: 念青唐古拉山, Pinyin: Niànqīng Tánggǔlā Shān) is a 700km long mountain range located in the Tibet Autonomous Region (China), at an average latitude of 30°30'N and a longitude between 90°E and 97°E. Together with the Gangdise (Gangtise) range located further west, it forms the Transhimalaya (or Gangdise-Nyenchen Tanglha range), which runs parallel to the main Himalayan range north of the Yarlung Tsangpo river. The range is divided into two main parts: the West and East Nyenchen Tanglha, with a division at the 5432m high Tro La pass near Lhari.
West Nyenchen Tanglha includes the four highest peaks in the range, all above 7000m: Mount Nyenchen Tanglha (Nyainqêntanglha) (7162m), Nyenchen Tanglha II (7117m), Nyenchen Tanglha III (7046m) and Jomo Gangtse (Qungmoganze) (7048m), all located in Damxung (Damshung) County of Lhasa Prefenture. West Nyenchen Tanglha separates the basins of the Yarlung Tsangpo River (Brahmaputra) in the south from the endorheic basins of the Changtang in the north. In particular, it lies to the southeast of Namtso Lake.

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Nyainrong County
Nyainrong County (Tibetan གཉན་རོང་རྫོང་ ; Wylie gnyan rong rdzong; Chinese: 聂荣县; Pinyin: Nièróng Xiàn) is a small county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Yurla is a favourite of the people of the county.
Coordinates: 32°27′21″N 92°29′23″E / 32.45583°N 92.48972°E / 32.45583; 92.48972

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Nyalam County
Nyalam County (Chinese: 聂拉木县, Nièlāmù Xiàn; Tibetan: gnya' lam rdzong) is a county in Tibet's Shigatse Prefecture. It borders on Nepal.
The land area of the county is 7,903 square km. The population as of 2003 was 10,000. The postal code for the county is 858300.
The county seat is in Nyalam Town.
The other town of the county is Zhangmu (樟木), also known under its Tibetan name Dram, or Nepali Khasa. It is located near the border and is the point of entry from Nepal. At "merely" 2300 meters elevation about the sea level, Zhangmu has mild and humid subtropical climate, which is a rarity for Tibet.
Other populated places in the county are the villages of Yalai (亚来), Suozuo (琐作), Nailong (乃龙), Menbu (门布) and Borong (波绒). (The names of the villages are given based on Chinese spellings; their Tibetan names may be somewhat different).

Coordinates: 28°32′47″N 86°04′29″E / 28.54639°N 86.07472°E / 28.54639; 86.07472

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Nyang bran
Nyang bran is a suburb district and valley located several kilometres north of the city of Lhasa, Tibet. The valley is noted for its hermitages, belonging to the Sera Monastery, one of the three great historical monasteries of Tibet. Pabonka Hermitage, Drakri Hermitage, Chupzang Nunnery and many others are located in the valley which offers scenic views of Lhasa. Mount Parasol lies on its western side on which the Pabonka Hermitage is located.
Coordinates: 29°43′11″N 91°07′06″E / 29.71972°N 91.11833°E / 29.71972; 91.11833

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Nyima County
Nyima County (Tibetan སོག་རྫོང་ Wylie sog rdzong; Chinese: 尼玛县; Pinyin: Nímǎ Xiàn) is the largest county within the Nagchu Prefecture and in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Coordinates: 34°06′35″N 87°50′31″E / 34.10972°N 87.84194°E / 34.10972; 87.84194

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Nyingchi County
Nyingchi County, (Tibetan: ཉིང་ཁྲི་ས་རྫོང་ Wylie: nying khri rdzong; Chinese: 林芝县; Pinyin: Línzhī Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingtri Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Nyingchi County is located in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Both steep cliffs and flat valleys exist in the area. The average altitude is 3000 metres above sea level. Bayi Town, the administrative capital of Nyingchi Prefecture, is located in Nyingchi County .
There are a lot of scenic spots in or nearby Nyingchi County. The Seche La Mountain Scenic Spot is located to the east of Nyingchi County, the Seche La Mountain is a part of the Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range, the watershed of the Nyang River and the Polung Zangbo River. The Sichuan-Tibetan Highway passes by. Standing at the mountain pass at 4,728 meters above sea level, one can admire the sunrise, sea of cloud, endless forest and the grand Namjagbarwa Peak. The Benri La Mountain near the Dagzê Village on the western slope of the mountain is a sacred site of the Tibetan Bön Sect and one of the four great holy mountains in Tibet. All year, devotees make pilgrimages to this spot from all areas. Every tenth day of the eighth month of the Tibetan calendar, a grand mountain worshiping activity is held, which is called "Nangbolhasoi," meaning "seeking for treasures from immortals."

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Nyingchi Prefecture
Nyingchi Prefecture (also: Linzhi Prefecture) (Tibetan: ཉིང་ཁྲི་ས་ཁུལ་; Wylie: nying-khri sa khul; simplified Chinese: 林芝地区; traditional Chinese: 林芝地區; pinyin: Línzhī Dìqū) is a prefecture in southeastern Tibet Autonomous Region in western China. The administrative seat of Nyingchi Prefecture is Bayi. The Chinese government claims Arunachal Pradesh, which is currently governed by India, as part of the prefecture. (See South Tibet dispute.)
Nyingchi Prefecture is the location of Buchasergyi Lakang Monastery.
The prefecture contains the Namcha Barwa Peak, and the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, located in Medog County, which attracts significant tourism and geoscientific and biological study to the area.
Approximately 90 kilometers west of Gongbo'gyamda County, is the alpine Basum Lake in the upper catchment area of the Ba River, the largest tributary of the Nyang River lying on average about 3,538 meters above sea level. The lake surface is on average about 3,538 meters above sea level. Covering an area of 25.9 square kilometers, the surrounding is populated by a diverse wildlife including leopards, Bears, goats, musk deer and Tibetan snow In 1997, the Basum Lake was listed by the World Tourist Organization as a top tourist attraction. The lake also contains an inlet with a Gelug monastery. East of Nyingchi County, is the Seche La Mountain, a mountain of the Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range, which forms part of the watershed of the Nyang River and the Polung Zangbo River. Benri La Mountain near the small town of Dagze is a known sacred site of the Tibetan Bon Sect. Considered by Tibetans as one of the four great holy mountains in Tibet, on every tenth day of the eighth month of the Tibetan calendar, a day of intense worshipping called "Nangbolhasoi," is performed (meaning "seeking for treasures from immortals.")

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Nyêmo County
Nyêmo (Tibetan: སྙེ་མོ་རྫོང་; Wylie: snye mo rdzong; simplified Chinese: 尼木县; pinyin: Nímù Xiàn) is a county west of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet. It has a population of 30,000 as of 2003 and the county has jurisdiction over 7 townships and 35 administrative villages.Zhuowaqudeng Monastery is located in the county.
Nyêmo County is located in central Tibet. The Yarlung Tsangpo flows through its northern area. Nyêmo Town, the county seat, is located approximately 94 kilometres west- southwest of Lhasa and the county covers a total area of 3275 square kilometers. Undulating hills and valleys with green pastures form much of the landscape, with an average elevation of 4,000 meters. It is a semi-arid plateau temperate monsoon climate zone, with four distinct seasons. Summer rainfall is concentrated and it has an annual rainfall of 324.2 millimeters and 2947.2 hours of sunshine with 100 days or so without snow. Natural disasters, mainly droughts, flash floods, landslides and hail are common.

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Nyêmo Town
Nyemo is a town and township and capital of Nyêmo County in the Lhasa Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is located 94 kilometres south-west of Lhasa.

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Nyêtang
Nyêtang is a village in Qüxü County in the Lhasa Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It is located approximately 12 miles south-west of Lhasa.

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Nêdong County
Nêdong County, (Tibetan: སྣེ་གདོང་རྫོང་ Wylie: sne gdong rdzong; Chinese: 乃东县; Pinyin: Nǎidōng Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Changzhug Temple, an important and very early, Buddhist monastery, dating to the reign of Songtsen Gampo, is located in the Yarlung Valley in Nêdong as is the Yungbulakang Palace.
Coordinates: 29°13′12″N 91°46′48″E / 29.22°N 91.78°E / 29.22; 91.78

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Pabongkha Hermitage
Pabonka Hermitage (Pha bong kha), also written Pawangka, is a historical hermitage, today belonging to Sera Monastery, about 8 kilometres northwest of Lhasa in the Nyang bran Valley on the slopes of Mount Parasol (Dbu gdugs ri) in Tibet.
Founded by Songtsän Gampo in the 7th century, it is currently the largest and most important of the Sera hermitages and is the starting point for the “Sixth-Month Fourth-Day” (Drug pa tshe bzhi) of the Sera Mountain Circumambulation Circuit (Se ra’i ri ’khor) pilgrimage.
The site, which is over 1,300 years old, dates back to Songtsän Gampo, the founder of the Tibetan Empire, and was amongst the first buildings built in the Lhasa area by him during the 7th century after settlement. Although originally the site of his castle or fort, the Tibetan Annals have revealed that Pabonka was converted into a monastery, possibly under the reign of the second great Buddhist king of Tibet Trisong Detsen. Detsen, along with Guru Rinpoche and the first seven monks of the new Tibetan Empire used to meditate at the hermitage and it became one of Tibet's very earliest Buddhist monasteries, possibly even pre-dating Jokhang. The original nine-storied monastery was partially destroyed by King Langdharma in 841 during his campaign to destroy monastic Buddhism; it was rebuilt in the 11th century as a two-storied structure that housed 200 monks.

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Panglung Hermitage
Panglung Hermitage is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa.
The Tibetan and Himalayan Library

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Patna
Paṭnā /ˈpʌtnə/ ( Hindi pronunciation (help·info)) is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second most populous city in Eastern India. Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world.Ancient Patna, known as Pataliputra, was the capital of the Magadha Empire under the Haryanka, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Gupta, Pala and during the Islamic period the seat of power for the Suri dynasty.
Pataliputra was also a seat of learning and fine arts. Its population during the Maurya period (around 300 BCE) was about 400,000.
The modern city of Patna is situated on the southern bank of the Ganges. The city also straddles the rivers Sone, Gandak and Punpun. The city is approximately 35 km long and 16 km to 18 km wide.
In June 2009, the World Bank ranked Patna in second place in India, after Delhi, in terms of the ease of starting a business. As at 2004-2005, Patna had the highest per capita gross district domestic product in Bihar, at Rs31,441. On the basis of,assumed average annual growth,Patna has been ranked as 21st fastest growing city in the world and 5th fastest growing city in India by City Mayors Foundation.Patna registered average annual growth of 3.72%,for the period of 2006-2010.

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Potala
The Potala Palace (Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ, Wylie: Po ta la, ZYPY: Bodala; simplified Chinese: 布达拉宫; traditional Chinese: 布達拉宮; pinyin: Bùdálā Gōng) is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress, called the White or Red Palace, on the site built by Songtsen Gampo in 637. Today, the Potala Palace is a museum.
The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. Thirteen stories of buildings – containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues – soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill", rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor.

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Potala Palace
The Potala Palace (Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ, Wylie: Po ta la, ZYPY: Bodala; simplified Chinese: 布达拉宫; traditional Chinese: 布達拉宮; pinyin: Bùdálā Gōng) is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, during the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress, called the White or Red Palace, on the site built by Songtsen Gampo in 637. Today, the Potala Palace is a museum.
The building measures 400 metres east-west and 350 metres north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. Thirteen stories of buildings – containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues – soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill", rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor.

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Pudong
Pudong (Chinese: 浦东; pinyin: Pǔdōng, lit "Huangpu East Bank") is an area of Shanghai, China, located along the east side of the Huangpu River, across from the historic city center of Shanghai in Puxi. Formerly a little-developed agricultural area linked only by ferries, Pudong has grown rapidly since the 1990s and emerged as China's financial and commercial hub. It is principally administered as the Pudong New Area, a district of Shanghai.
Pudong is home to the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and many of Shanghai's best-known buildings, such as the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, the Shanghai World Financial Center. It is also the site of the future Shanghai Tower. These modern skyscrapers face directly across from Puxi's historic Bund, the remnant of Shanghai's former concessions.
Pudong refers to the land in the east of Huangpu River. Originally, the area was mainly farmland and countryside with some warehouses and wharfs near the shore. The parts closest to Puxi were administered by its districts, including Huangpu, Yangpu, and the former Nanshi District. The rest of the area was administered by Chuansha County.

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Purbuchok Hermitage
Purbuchok Hermitage (Phur bu lcog ri khrod) is a hermitage situated in the northeastern corner of the Lhasa Valley in the northern suburb of Dodé in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. Destroyed by the Chinese in 1959, it was mostly restored in 1984. Affiliated to the Sera Monastery, it is the last hermitage to be visited on the “Sixth-Month Fourth-Day” (drug pa tshe bzhi) pilgrimage circuit. The hills surrounding the monastery have been given name tags of the three protectors of the divine paradise namely the Avalokiteśvara, Manjusri and Vajrapani. It is also identified with the six-syllables divine mantra (sngags)- OM Mani Padme Hum.
The hermitage is located at the northeastern corner of Lhasa, midway to the northern mountains in the Lhasa suburb of the Dodé Valley along with Sera Utsé Hermitage. The mountainous landscape of the hermitage is imbued with serene sanctity and is blessed (jinchen), which fact is expressively described. The hills to the west are described to be in the shape of two auspicious golden fish (trashi sernya). The northern mountain is called the Soul-Mountain of Mañjuśrī (Jampelyangkyi Lari) and also as Moktogo, with a rock outcrop interpreted to be in the shape of conch shell. The eastern mountains are ascribed to contain the palace of Avalokiteśvara The mountain-abode (neri) of Vajrapāni, who is said to be the “door-keeper” (gosung) for the entire region, appears as if it had a flag on its peak. Consequently, the hermitage has provided inspiration to the meditating monks in different “metaphysical rhetoric of sacred space".

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Qamdo County
Qamdo County, also Chamdo County, Changdu County (Tibetan: ཆབ་མདོ་རྫོང་; Wylie: Chab mdo rdzong; simplified Chinese: 昌都县; traditional Chinese: 昌都縣; pinyin: Chāngdū Xiàn) is a county in Tibet Autonomous Region, and the seat of government of Qamdo Prefecture. Qamdo county has an area of 10,700 km² and a population of 78,000, of which 90% are Tibetan. The average temperature is 7.6°C, with average temperatures of -2.3°C in January and 16.3°C in July. The average precipitation is 467 mm per year.
Popular with the (predominantly Chinese) tourists are the Galden Jampaling Monastery in the capital and the salt mines and hot springs at Yangjing.
Coordinates: 32°16′34″N 97°15′41″E / 32.27611°N 97.26139°E / 32.27611; 97.26139

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Qamdo Prefecture
Qamdo Prefecture (also: Changdu Prefecture) (Tibetan: ཆབ་མདོ་ས་ཁུལ་, Wylie: chab-mdo-sa-khul, ZYPY: Qamdo Sakü; simplified Chinese: 昌都地区; traditional Chinese: 昌都地區; pinyin: Chāngdū Dìqū) is a subnational entity in the eastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, containing the town of Qamdo. The capital of the prefecture is Qamdo County.
The prefecture is subdivided into 11 county-level divisions: 11 counties

The prefecture is served by Qamdo Bangda Airport.
Coordinates: 31°10′N 97°14′E / 31.167°N 97.233°E / 31.167; 97.233

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Qingdao
Qingdao (help·info) (Chinese: 青岛; pinyin: Qīngdǎo; Mandarin pronunciation: [tɕʰíŋtɑ̀ʊ̯]; German: Tsingtau) also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million (2010 census) in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.
It borders Yantai to the northeast, Weifang to the west and Rizhao to the southwest. The character 青 (qīng) in Chinese means "green" or "lush", while the character 岛 (dǎo) means "island". Qingdao is administered at the sub-provincial level.
Lying across the Shandong Peninsula while looking out to the Yellow Sea, Qingdao is a major seaport, naval base, and industrial centre. It is also the site of the Tsingtao Brewery. The world's longest sea bridge, the Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, links the main urban area of Qingdao with Huangdao district, straddling the Jiaozhou Bay sea areas. In 2009, Qingdao was named China's most livable city.

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Qionghai
Qionghai (simplified Chinese: 琼海; traditional Chinese: 瓊海; pinyin: Qiónghǎi) is one of the 7 county-level cities of Hainan province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the east of the island at the mouth of the Wanquan River, 86 kilometres (53 mi) from the provincial capital of Haikou. It has an area of 1,692 square kilometres (653 sq mi) and in 2010, it had a population of 483,217.
The seat of government is at Jiaji (simplified Chinese: 嘉积; traditional Chinese: 嘉積; pinyin: Jiājī), previously Jiaji Town (simplified Chinese: 嘉积镇; traditional Chinese: 嘉積鎮; pinyin: Jiājī-zhèn), often now referred to simply as Qionghai. Bo'ao, seat of the Boao Forum for Asia, belongs to Qionghai city.
Qionghai has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am).Monsoonal influences are strong, with a relatively lengthy wet season and a pronounced dry season (January to March). Rainfall is heaviest and most frequent from August to October, when typhoons may strike, and is otherwise still common throughout the year, averaging an annual total of 2,060 millimetres (81 in). Humidity is consistently very high.

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Qiqihar
Qiqihar (simplified Chinese: 齐齐哈尔; traditional Chinese: 齊齊哈爾; pinyin: Qíqíhāěr; Manchu: Cicigar ᠴᡳᠴᡳᡤᠠᡵ; formerly Tsitsihar) is a major city in the Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China. The municipal area has 1,514,188 inhabitants, while the total population of the prefecture-level city is 5,367,003 at the 2010 census. These are mainly Han Chinese, though the city is also home to thirty-four minorities including Manchu, Daur, and Mongolians. Close to Qiqihar are numerous wetlands and the Zhalong Nature Reserve, famous in China for being home to numerous red-crowned cranes.

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Qonggyai County
Qonggyai County or Chongye County, (Tibetan: སྣེ་གདོང་རྫོང་ Wylie: ´phyongs rgyas rdzong; Chinese: 琼结县; Pinyin: Qióngjié Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Qonggyai contains the Valley of the Kings, a series of graveyard tumuli, approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) south of Tsetang, Tibet, near the town of Chongye or Qonggyai on Mure Mountain. The site possesses eight large mounds of earth resembling natural hills that are believed to contain eight to ten buried Tibetan kings.
"According to Tibetan tradition all the kings from Dri-gum onwards are buried at ‘Phyong-rgyas, but as the site now presents itself, there are just ten tumuli identifiable as the tombs of all the kings from Srong-brtsan-sgam-po to Khri-lde-srong-brtsan, including two princes . . . ."
Other sources, however, have indicated that there are actually nine mounds rather than eight or ten. The kings believed to be buried at the site include Songtsän Gampo (the founder of the Tibetan Empire), Nansong Mangsten, Tridu Songtsen, Gyangtsa Laban, Tride Tsugtsen, Trisong Detsen, Muni Tsangpo and Tritsu Detsen.

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Qushui County
Qüxü or Qushui or Chushur or Chushul (Tibetan: ཆུ་ཤུར་རྫོང་; Wylie: chu shur rdzong; simplified Chinese: 曲水县 ; pinyin: Qūshuǐ Xiàn) is a county west of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet. As of 1999 it had a population of 32,150, with an area of 1624 square kilometers. It has jurisdiction over 9 townships, and 114 village committees.
In the Tibetan language it means "water ditch." The lowest elevation is 3,500 meters, with the highest summit elevation of 5894 meters. It is a temperate semi-arid plateau monsoon climate zone with a lot of sunshine; 3,000 hours of annual sunshine hours on average and 150 days a year without snow. Annual precipitation is 441.9 millimeters (17.40 in) and natural disasters such as flash floods, landslides, drought, sandstorms, pests and diseases are common.
Mineral resources include mainly corundum, limestone, granite, peat and so on. Wild animals and plant resources include Himalayan blue sheep, pheasants, deer, leopard, black bear, Chinese caterpillar fungus, Fritillaria, Codonopsis, etc.

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Qusum County
Qusum County, (Tibetan: ཆུ་གསུམ་རྫོང་, Wylie: Chu-gsum Rdzong; Chinese: 曲松县; pinyin: Qūsōng Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
In 1999 the county had a population of 15,541 inhabitants. The capital is Qusum.
Coordinates: 29°15′48″N 92°27′27″E / 29.26333°N 92.4575°E / 29.26333; 92.4575

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Qüxü County
Qüxü or Qushui or Chushur or Chushul (Tibetan: ཆུ་ཤུར་རྫོང་; Wylie: chu shur rdzong; simplified Chinese: 曲水县 ; pinyin: Qūshuǐ Xiàn) is a county west of the main centre of Lhasa, Tibet. As of 1999 it had a population of 32,150, with an area of 1624 square kilometers. It has jurisdiction over 9 townships, and 114 village committees.
In the Tibetan language it means "water ditch." The lowest elevation is 3,500 meters, with the highest summit elevation of 5894 meters. It is a temperate semi-arid plateau monsoon climate zone with a lot of sunshine; 3,000 hours of annual sunshine hours on average and 150 days a year without snow. Annual precipitation is 441.9 millimeters (17.40 in) and natural disasters such as flash floods, landslides, drought, sandstorms, pests and diseases are common.
Mineral resources include mainly corundum, limestone, granite, peat and so on. Wild animals and plant resources include Himalayan blue sheep, pheasants, deer, leopard, black bear, Chinese caterpillar fungus, Fritillaria, Codonopsis, etc.

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Rakhadrak Hermitage
Rakhadrak Hermitage (Ra kha brag ri khrod) is a historical hermitage, belonging to the Sera Monastery. It is located to the northeast of Sera and to the north of Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region. It is located just up the mountain from the Keutsang Hermitage.
The historical fame of the hermitage is two-fold. One is that Tsongkhapa created his great classic treatise known as “The Essence of Eloquence that Distinguishes Between the Provisional and Definitive Meaning of the Scriptures (Drang nges legs bshad snying po)”. The second aspect is that a letter known as “bearers of the golden letter” (gser yig pa) was formally handed over to Tsongkhapa here, brought by a delegation from the Emperor of China. The letter was an invitation from the Chinese Emperor to Tsongkhapa to visit his court in China.
In the 18th century, the hermitage was also established by Sgrub khang dge legs rgya mtsho (1641–1713) as a formal monastic institution with twelve fully ordained monks. The hermitage is also part of the “Sixth-Month Fourth-Day” (drug pa tshe bzhi) pilgrimage circuit. Another account (oral account) attributes building of the hermitage in the 17th century to a student of the Fifth Dalai Lama (Da lai bla ma sku phreng lnga pa).

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Ramoche Temple
Ramoche Temple (Tibetan: ར་མོ་ཆེ་དགོན་པ་, Wylie: Ra-mo-che Dgon-pa, Lhasa dialect IPA: [[ràmotɕe kø̃̀pa]]; Chinese: 小昭寺; pinyin: Xiǎozhāosì) is a Buddhist monastery is considered the most important temple in Lhasa after the Jokhang Temple. Situated in the northwest of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, it is east of the Potala and north of the Jokhang, covering a total area of 4,000 square meters (almost one acre).
Ramoche is considered to be the sister temple to the Jokhang which was completed about the same time. Tradition says that it was built originally to house the much revered Jowo Rinpoche statue, carried to Lhasa via Lhagang in a wooden cart, brought to Tibet when Princess Wen Cheng came to Lhasa. Unlike, the Jokhang, Ramoche was originally built in Chinese style. During Mangsong Mangtsen's reign (649-676), because of a threat that the Tang Chinese might invade, Princess Wen Cheng is said to have had the statue of Jowo Rinpoche hidden in a secret chamber in the Jokhang. Princess Jincheng, sometime after 710 CE, had it placed in the central chapel of the Jokhang. It was replaced at Ramoche by a statue of Jowo Mikyo Dorje, a small bronze statue of the Buddha when he was eight years old, crafted by Vishvakarman, and brought to Lhasa by the Nepalese queen, Bhrikuti. It is said to have been badly damaged by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

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Reting Monastery
Reting Monastery (Wylie: Rwa-sgreng gom pa) is an historically important Buddhist monastery in Lhünzhub County in the Lhasa Prefecture of central Tibet. It is also commonly spelled "Radreng."
Reting Monastery was founded by Atisha's chief disciple Dromtönpa in 1056 in the Reting Tsampo Valley north of Lhasa as the seat of the Kadampa lineage. He brought some of Atisha's relics with him. It was the first major monastery of the Sarma revival.
Tsongkapa (1357 – 1419) reformed the Kadampa School which then became known as the Gelug School and Reting became an important Gelugpa monastery, the seat of the Reting Rinpoche.
The Reting Rinpoches were responsible for the successful search and discovery of the 14th Dalai Lama. The Reting Rinpoches were among the candidates for Regent during the minority of a Dalai Lama. Thus, the Reting Rinpoche was Regent between 1845 and 1855 and, again, from 1933-1947. The latter Regent, the Fifth Reting Rinpoche, was involved in the search for the present Dalai Lama and became his Senior Tutor, later abdicated his position and was found guilty of colluding with the Chinese and died in a Tibetan prison in 1947. In fact his Shugdenpa accusers who were in power are generally held responsible for his murder were colluding with the Chinese Ambon. They also destroyed the Gelug Reting Monastery and killed many in Lhasa. The political confusion which followed aided the rapid collapse of Tibet after the Chinese invaded.

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Rinbung County
Rinbung County (Chinese: 仁布县; Pinyin: Rénbù Xiàn) is a county at the northeastern boundary of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

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Riwoqê County
Riwoqê County, or Riwoche (Tibetan: རི་བོ་ཆེ་རྫོང་, Wylie ri bo che rdzong; Chinese: 类乌齐县; Pinyin: Lèiwūqí Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Located in the former province of Kham, Riwoche Monastery located here became the seat of the Taklung Kagyu, one of the four chief schools of the Kagyu sect.

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Russia
Russia ⁱ/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.

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Rutog County
Rutog County (Tibetan: རུ་ཐོག་རྫོང་ wylie: ru thog rdzong; Chinese: 日土县; Pinyin:Rìtǔ Xiàn) is a large western territory of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its capital, Rutog is located some 900 kilometres (560 mi) northwest of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa.
The county has a rich history of folk tales, myths, legends, proverbs and folk songs and has a large number of caves, rock paintings and other relics. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway runs through the Rutog County for 340 kilometres. The county, established in March 1961 covers 74,500 square kilometres but has a very low population density with a population of 6300 (2003).
Although when the county was established in 1961 it was part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 1978 it became a part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, under the jurisdiction of the Ngari Prefecture.
Rutog County is located in northwestern Tibet, Ngari northwest with a number of territorial borders. It is divided into 12 townships and 30 village committees. The Karakoram Mountains go through the county. The average altitude of 4,500 meters with a maximum altitude of 6800 meters.

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Sa'gya County
Sa'gya County (Chinese: 萨迦县; Pinyin: Sàjiā Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Coordinates: 28°56′04″N 88°26′10″E / 28.93444°N 88.43611°E / 28.93444; 88.43611

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Saga County
Saga County (Chinese: 萨嘎县; Pinyin: Sàgā Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Dajia Lake and Jiesa Lake lies in the county.

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Sangri County
Sangri County, (Tibetan: སྣེ་གདོང་རྫོང་ Wylie: sang ri rdzong; Chinese: 桑日县; Pinyin: Sāngrì Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

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Sanya
Sanya (simplified Chinese: 三亚; traditional Chinese: 三亞; pinyin: Sānyà) is the southernmost city in the People's Republic of China and one of the two prefecture-level cities in Hainan Province. According to the 2010 Census, the population of Sanya is of 685,408 inhabitants, living in an area of 1,919.58 km². The city is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination, also serving as the training site of the Chinese national beach volleyball team. Sanya is home to small concentrations of Utsul people.
The ancient name of Sanya is Yazhou (崖州), which literally means "cliff prefecture". Its history can be dated back to the Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC). Since then, it has always been within the territory of the Chinese dynasties. Due to its remoteness, Sanya is sometimes called Tianya Haijiao (天涯海角), meaning "the end of the sky and ocean". Some prime ministers in various dynasties were exiled there and the Buddhist monk Jianzhen accidentally sailed there and used the place as one of his harbors for his missionary journey to Japan.

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Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery (Tibetan: སེ་ར་, Wylie: Se-ra; Chinese: 色拉寺; ) is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses (se ra in Tibetan language) in bloom. The original Sera monastery is located in Lhasa, Tibet, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the Jokang and is responsible for some 19 hermitages, including four nunneries, which are all located in the foot hills north of Lhasa. The Sera Monastery, as a complex of structures with the Great Assembly Hall and three colleges, was founded in 1419 by Jamchen Chojey of Sakya Yeshe of Zel Gungtang (1355–1435), a disciple of Tsongkhapa.
During the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Sera monastery suffered severe damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monks killed. After the Dalai Lama took asylum in India, many of the monks of the Sera Monastery who survived the attack moved to Bylakuppe in Mysore, India. After initial tribulations, they established a parallel Sera Monastery with Sera Me and Sera Je colleges and a Great Assembly Hall on similar lines to the original monastery, with help from the Government of India. There are now 3,000 or more monks living in Sera, India and this community has also spread its missionary activities to several countries by establishing Dharma centres, propagating knowledge of Buddhism.

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Sera monastery
Sera Monastery (Tibetan: སེ་ར་, Wylie: Se-ra; Chinese: 色拉寺; ) is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) north of Lhasa. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of the name 'Sera' is attributed to a fact that the site where the monastery was built was surrounded by wild roses (se ra in Tibetan language) in bloom. The original Sera monastery is located in Lhasa, Tibet, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the Jokang and is responsible for some 19 hermitages, including four nunneries, which are all located in the foot hills north of Lhasa. The Sera Monastery, as a complex of structures with the Great Assembly Hall and three colleges, was founded in 1419 by Jamchen Chojey of Sakya Yeshe of Zel Gungtang (1355–1435), a disciple of Tsongkhapa.
During the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Sera monastery suffered severe damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monks killed. After the Dalai Lama took asylum in India, many of the monks of the Sera Monastery who survived the attack moved to Bylakuppe in Mysore, India. After initial tribulations, they established a parallel Sera Monastery with Sera Me and Sera Je colleges and a Great Assembly Hall on similar lines to the original monastery, with help from the Government of India. There are now 3,000 or more monks living in Sera, India and this community has also spread its missionary activities to several countries by establishing Dharma centres, propagating knowledge of Buddhism.

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Sera Utsé Hermitage
Sera Utsé Hermitage, Sera Utse, Sera Ütse, Sera Tse or Drubkjang Tse is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located on the mountain directly behind Sera Monastery itself, which is about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the Jokhang in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. It is older than Sera Monastery.
It is about a 1½ hour walk up the hill from Tsongkhapa's hermitage or Choding Khang, which is just above the Assembly Hall of Sera Monastery. It has a two-storied chapel and monks' quarters with magnificent views over the city of Lhasa. There is a protector shrine to Pehar (a Tibetan spirit which belongs to the gyalpo class) and Shri Devi.
The word ‘se ra dbu rtse’ is also spelt as ‘se ra rtse’, which literally means “Sera Peak.”
The hill peak behind the Sera Monastery to its north is known as Sera where a number of small hermitages (ri khrod) are located. The hills are also known as Pubuchok Mountains. The hermitage, at an altitude of 13,300 feet (4,100 m), hugging the hill slopes, is located very close to the Sera mountain peak. There are two trails which lead to other hermitages. To the east of the Pubuchok mountains, in Lhasa, the Sera Utsé Hermitage, the Ragachok and Purbuchok Hermitages, are located in the higher reaches of the Dodé Valley. The west track leads to the Tashi Choling hermitage in the Pawangka valley. The white granite rocks of the hills here get heated and give out strong glare making it a tough climb from the Sera Monastery needing adequate precautions.

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Shaanxi
Shaanxi (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 陕西; traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: Shǎnxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province. Shaanxi is the historical home, along with Gansu of the dialect of the Dungans, of the Hui people, who emigrated out of China to Central Asia.
By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighbouring province of Shanxi, to the east of Shaanxi, should be spelled "Shanxi"; the difference is in tone: Shānxī (山西) and Shǎnxī (陕西). To make the difference clear without tonal marks, the spelling "Shaanxi" was contrived (following the romanization system of Yuen Ren Chao) for the province of Shǎnxī, while "Shanxi" is used for the province of Shānxī. Shaanxi is the official spelling on Chinese Government's official web portal. This makes "Shaanxi" the only name of Chinese provinces that has not been romanized according to pinyin rules.

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Shandong
Coordinates: 36°24′N 118°24′E / 36.4°N 118.4°E / 36.4; 118.4
Shandong (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 山东; traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade–Giles: Shan¹-tung¹) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world's sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius, and was later established as the center of Confucianism. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient as well as modern north-south and east-west trading routes have helped to establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship that began in the late 19th century, Shandong has emerged as one of the most populous (95,793,065 inhabitants at the 2010 Census) and most affluent provinces in the People's Republic of China (GDP of 3.94 trillion CNY in 2010).

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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.

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Shannan Prefecture
The Shannan Prefecture (lit. "south of the mountains") also known as the Lhoka Prefecture (Tibetan: ལྷོ་ཁ་ས་ཁུལ།, Wylie: lho-kha sa-khul, ZYPY: Lhoka Sakü; simplified Chinese: 山南地区; pinyin: Shānnán Dìqū) is a prefecture in the southeastern area of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Shannan Prefecture has the Gonggar County, (alternatively "Gongkar", Tibetan: སྣེ་གདོང་རྫོང།, Wylie: gong-dkar rdzong; Chinese: 贡嘎县; Pinyin: Gònggá Xiàn) under its jurisdiction with the Gonggar Choide Monastery, the Gonggar Dzong, and the Gonggar Airport near the Gonggar town. Located in the middle and lower stretches of the ancient Yarlung Valley, formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the Shannan Prefecture is known as the birth place of Tibetan Civilization. It is bounded by prefectures of Lhasa on the north, Nyingchi to the east, Shigatse on the west, and the International border with India and Bhutan on the south. The prefecture measures 420 kilometres (260 mi) east to west and 329 kilometres (204 mi) from north to south. Its uniqueness is because the first farmland, the first palace and the first Buddhist monastery of Tibet are all located in the prefecture. It also has the distinction of holding the first Tibetan opera.Ethnic Tibetans constitute 98% of the population and the balance 2 % comprise the ethnic groups of Han, Hui, Monba, Lhoba and other nationalities. It has 12 counties and its capital is Tsetang town, which is located 183 kilometres from Lhasa.

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Shantou
Shantou (simplified Chinese: 汕头; traditional Chinese: 汕頭; pinyin: Shàntóu; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Sòaⁿ-thâu), also known as Swatow or Suátao, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, with a total population of 5,391,028 as of 2010 and an administrative area of 2,064 square kilometres (797 sq mi). With it and the immediately surrounding cities of Jieyang and Chaozhou, the metropolitan region – known as Chaoshan – covers an area of 10,404 square kilometres (4,017 sq mi), and had a permanent population of 13,937,897 at the end of 2010.
It is the fourth-largest most populated area in China, after Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing.
Shantou, a city significant in 19th-century Chinese history as one of the treaty ports established for Western trade and contact, was one of the original Special Economic Zones of the People's Republic of China established in the 1980s, but failed to blossom like other cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Zhuhai. However, it remains as Eastern Guangdong's economic centre, and is home to Shantou University, a member of the “Project 211” group.

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Shanxi
Coordinates: 37°42′N 112°24′E / 37.7°N 112.4°E / 37.7; 112.4
Shanxi (help·info) (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: Shānxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" (pinyin: Jìn), after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period.
The name Shanxi literally means "mountain's west", which refers to the province's location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the north and is made up mainly of a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. The capital of the province is Taiyuan.
Shanxi, the territory of state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 403 BC), underwent a three-way split into the states of Han, Zhao and Wei in 403 BC, the traditional date taken as the start of the Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC). By 221 BC all of these states had fallen to the state of Qin, which established the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC).

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Shenzhen
Shenzhen (Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂə́ntʂə̂n]) is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones (SEZs). It currently also holds sub-provincial administrative status, with powers slightly less than a province.
Shenzhen's modern cityscape is the result of the vibrant economy made possible by rapid foreign investment since the institution of the policy of "reform and opening" establishment of the SEZ in the late 1979, before which it was only a small village. Both Chinese and foreign nationals have invested enormous amount of money in the Shenzhen SEZ. More than US$30 billion in foreign investment has gone into both foreign-owned and joint ventures, at first mainly in manufacturing but more recently in the service industries as well. Shenzhen is now reputedly considered as one of the fastest-growing cities in the world.
Being southern mainland China's major financial centre, Shenzhen is home to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as well as the headquarters of numerous high-tech companies. Shenzhen is also the third-busiest container port in China, after Shanghai and Hong Kong.

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Shigatse
Shigatse (Tibetan: གཞིས་ཀ་རྩེ་, ZYPY: Xigazê; simplified Chinese: 日喀则; traditional Chinese: 日喀則; pinyin: Rìkāzé; other spellings: Shikatse, Zhigatsey) is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), People's Republic of China, with a population of 92000, about 250 km (160 mi) southwest of Lhasa and 90 km (56 mi) northwest of Gyantse. It is the administrative centre of the modern Shigatse Prefecture, a region of the TAR.
The city is located at an altitude of 3,840 metres (12,600 ft) at the confluence of the Yarlung Tsangpo (aka Brahmaputra) river and the Nyang River (Nyang Chu or Nyanchue) in west Tibet and was the ancient capital of Ü-Tsang province. It is also the name of the surrounding county.
Shigatse was previously known as Samdruptse.
In the 19th century the "Tashi" or Panchen Lama had temporal power over Tashilhunpo Monastery and three small districts, though not over the town of Shigatse itself, which was administered by two Dzongpön (Prefects) appointed from Lhasa. Before military conflict between the PRC's People's Liberation Army and the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan territory was divided into 53 prefecture districts called Dzongs.

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Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang (Chinese: 石家庄; pinyin: Shí jiā zhuāng) is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about 280 kilometres (170 mi) south of Beijing. Shijiazhuang Prefecture contains the 5 districts of Shijiazhuang urban area, the Jingxing Mining District, five county-level cities, and twelve counties.
At the 2010 census, it has a total population of 10,163,788, with 2,604,930 in the urban area in 2010 and 3,833,606 in its built up area (metro) made of 5 urban districts plus Luquan city, Zhengding and Luancheng counties. Gaocheng county is about to be part of Shijiazhuang built up area while its urbanisation is still growing.
Shijiazhuang is a newly industrialised city. It experienced dramatic growth after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The population of the metropolitan area has more than quadrupled in only 30 years. It is a central hub of transportation routes. The city is home to a large garrison of military troops ready to protect Beijing if required. It has a number of PLA colleges and universities.

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Sichuan
Coordinates: 30°N 103°E / 30°N 103°E / 30; 103
Sichuan (help·info) (Chinese: 四川, known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, "四川", is an abbreviation of "四川路" (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "川峡四路" (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC (coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty). Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established.
Shu's existence was unknown until an archaeological discovery in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui (三星堆) in Guanghan County. It is believed to be an ancient city of the Shu Kingdom, where excavations have yielded invaluable archaeological information.

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Sikkim
Sikkim (/ˈsɪkɨm/; Devanagari: सिक्किम, i.e. the "Goodly Region", or Shikim, Shikimpati or Sikkim;Lepcha: Mayel Lyang; Limbu: Yuksom, "one of the fortified place";Standard Tibetan: འབྲས་ལྗོངས་, Bras Ljongs, Denzong or Demojongs) is a landlocked Indian state located in the Himalayan mountains. The state borders Nepal to the west, China's Tibet Autonomous Region to the north and east, and Bhutan to the southeast, while the state of West Bengal lies to the south.
With around 607,000 inhabitants as of 2011^[update], Sikkim is the least populous state in India and the second-smallest state after Goa in total area, covering approximately 7,096 km² (2,740 sq mi). Sikkim is nonetheless geographically diverse due to its location in the Himalayas; the climate ranges from subtropical to high alpine, and Kangchenjunga, the world's third-highest peak, is located on Sikkim's border with Nepal. Sikkim is a popular tourist destination, owing to its culture, scenery and biodiversity. It also has the only open land border between India and China. Sikkim's capital and largest city is Gangtok.

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Siliguri
Siliguri ( pronunciation (help·info), Bengali: শিলিগুড়ি Nepali: सिलीगुड़ी ) also known as Gateway of North East India is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Siliguri is located on the banks of the Mahananda River and the foothills of the Himalayas, it is a principal commercial, tourism, transportation, and educational centre of North Bengal.
As of 2011, the city had 5 lakhs residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 7 lakhs, making it the most populous city in North Bengal. It is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and to the North East. It is famous for its four 'T's i.e.; Tea, Transport, Tourism and Timber. Presently, Siliguri has been witnessing an economic boom in the organised retail, hospitality and real estate industries due to population growth and its strategic geographical location. It is the largest city in the entire North East. The total area of Siliguri Metro is 210 sq km whereas the suburbs area comprise 62 sq KM. The city of Siliguri runs 48km from North to south and 34km from east to west. Siliguri is a commercial hub for the North East drawing in many new residents from other states.

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Sog County
Sog County (Tibetan སོག་རྫོང་ Wylie sog rdzong; Chinese: 索县; Pinyin: Suǒ Xiàn) is a county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Sog Dzong lies in the extreme western part of the former province of Kham. To its west is Chamdo and to its right Nagchu. Sogdzong is located between the Drachen and Driru, on the Sogchu River. It is the source of Gyalmo Ngulchu.
Crops include barley, wheat , radish, potatoes, etc. and yaks, sheep, goat, cows, and horses are reared. Nomads move four times annually according to seasons. The county contains Tsangdain Monastery, built in 1667, resembling the Potala Palace.
Coordinates: 32°02′44″N 94°16′54″E / 32.04556°N 94.28167°E / 32.04556; 94.28167

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Suzhou
Suzhou (Chinese: 苏州; pinyin: Sūzhōu; Suzhou dialect: [səu tsøʏ]), previously transliterated as Su-chou, Suchow, and Soochow, is a major city located in the southeast of Jiangsu Province in Eastern China, located adjacent to Shanghai Municipality. The city is situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Taihu Lake and is a part of the Yangtze River Delta region. Administratively, Suzhou is a prefecture-level city with an urban population of over 4 million expanding to over 10 million in the administrative area.
Originally founded in 514 BCE, Suzhou has over 2,500 years of rich history, and relics of the past are abundant to this day. The city's canals, stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens have contributed to its status as one of the top tourist attractions in China. Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it has also been an important centre for China's silk industry. The classical gardens in Suzhou were added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1997 and 2000. Suzhou is often dubbed the "Venice of the East" or "Venice of China".

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Taiyuan
Taiyuan (Chinese: 太原; pinyin: Tàiyuán [tʰâɪɥǎn]) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi province in North China. At the 2010 census, it had a total population of 4,201,591 inhabitants on 6959 km² whom 3,212,500 are urban on 1,460 km². The name of the city literally means "Great Plains", referring to the location where the Fen River leaves the mountains.
From around 859BC the area was held by the Rong people. In 662 they were driven out by the Beidi.
Taiyuan was an ancient capital, constructed by Zhaojianzi (simplified Chinese: 赵简子; traditional Chinese: 趙簡子) in 497 BC, named Jinyang (t 晉陽, s 晋阳). It served as the capital of Zhao. It was renamed Taiyuan following its conquest by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. Under the later Han dynasty, it was the capital of Bing Province (Bingzhou). For a time in the 6th century, the city was a secondary capital of Eastern Wei and Northern Qi states, growing into a fairly large city and also becoming a center of Buddhism. A new city was built in AD 562, which was later linked to the old city during the Tang Dynasty in AD 733. From that time until the middle of the Tang dynasty (618–907), the construction of the cave temples at Tianlong Mountain just southwest of the city, continued. The dynastic founder of the Tang began his conquest of the empire with Taiyuan as a base and using the support of its local aristocracy. It was periodically designated as the Tang's northern capital and grew into a heavily fortified military base.

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Takten Hermitage
Takten Hermitage is a historical hermitage, belonging to Sera Monastery. It is located north of Lhasa in Tibet.
The Tibetan and Himalayan Library

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Tangshan
"唐山"redirects here. For an alternative name of China, see Names of China#Tang
Tangshan (Chinese: 唐山; pinyin: Tángshān shì) is a largely industrial prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has become known for the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and killed at least 255,000 residents. The city has since been rebuilt and has become a tourist attraction.
Tangshan's prefecture population was 7,577,284 at the 2010 census, with over 3 million in the 6 core districts.
Tangshan is named after Dacheng Mountain (which is also named Mountain Tang[Tangshan in Chinese]) in the middle of Tangshan city.
In 645 A.D., Li Shimin-emperor of Tang Dynasty and his army stationed at Dacheng Mountain on his way back from Korean Peninsula. Unfortunately, Caofei-his beloved concubine died here. In order to commemorate his Caofei, he named the mountain with the name of the state—Tang. Later, the name of the mountain became the name of the city.
Tangshan is a place with a long history, where there were ancient humans living as early as 4 million years ago. Tangshan was in the territory of Guzhu Kingdom (1600 B.C.) in the time of the Shang Dynasty; and then became a part of Yan Kingdom (one of the seven Warring States, 403 B.C--221 B.C.), and in the Han Dynasty was included to Youzhou . It was under the jurisdiction of Yongping Province and Zunhua State successively in the Qing Dynasty.

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Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).

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Tibet University
Tibet University is the largest university in Tibet, China. It has two campuses: one in Lhasa and one in Nyingchi. About 7500 students are enrolled at the university, and nearly 20% of the students are in the Department of Tibetan Studies, which is a draw for international students as well as locals. The precursor to Tibet University were informal classes established by Tibetan cadres in 1951. The university was officially established in 1985, funded by the Chinese government, and has since expanded from its origins as a teacher training school.
Tibetan language study is mandatory at Tibet University. As of 1995, 92% of its students are from ethnic minority groups. Ethnic Tibetans form 67% of the student body.
Lhasa campus of the existing staff of 863 people, 523 full-time teachers. 327 Tibetan teachers, accounting for 62.5 percent, about 14,020 students. China Tibetology Center.The school has a total of 11 colleges of the Faculty of Arts, Science, Engineering, Agronomy, College of Medicine, School of Economics and Management, School of Tourism and Foreign Languages, Arts, Teachers College, School of Continuing Education, the Central Radio and TV Tibet Institute. Has a Tibetan word literature, Tibetan history, Tibetan art, public affairs management, crop cultivation, ecology, and prevention of veterinary science, musicology, eight master's degree awarded points.

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Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (Tibetan: བོད་ས་མཐོ།, Wylie: bod sa mtho), also known as the Qinghai-Tibetan (Qingzang) Plateau (Chinese: 青藏高原; pinyin: Qīngzàng Gāoyuán) is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia or East Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in western China, as well as part of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. It stretches approximately 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) north to south and 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) east to west. With an average elevation exceeding 4,500 metres (14,800 ft), the Tibetan Plateau is sometimes called "the Roof of the World" and is the world's highest and largest plateau, with an area of 2.5 million km² (0.97 million sq. mi., or about four times the size of France).
The Tibetan Plateau is surrounded by massive mountain ranges. The plateau is bordered to the south by the Himalayan range, to the north by the Kunlun Range which separates it from the Tarim Basin, and to the northeast by the Qilian Range which separates the plateau from the Hexi Corridor and Gobi Desert. To the east and southeast the plateau gives way to the forested gorge and ridge geography of the mountainous headwaters of the Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze rivers in western Sichuan (the Hengduan Mountains) and southwest Qinghai. In the west the curve of the rugged Karakoram range of northern Kashmir embraces it.

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Tingri County
Tingri County or Dhringgri County (Tibetan: དིང་རི་རྫོང་, Wylie: ding ri rdzong; Chinese: 定日县; pinyin: Dìngrì Xiàn), is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The county comprises the upper valley of the Bum-chu or Arun River, with the valleys of its tributaries plus the valleys of the Rongshar Tsangpo and the Lapchi Gang Tsanpo which flow south into Nepal. It is bordered on the south by the main range of the Himalayas including Mt. Everest (Tib. Chomolungma), Makalu and Cho Oyu. The present county administration is located at Shelkar, about 87 km (54 mi) east of Tingri (town).

Coordinates: 28°28′34″N 87°13′01″E / 28.47611°N 87.21694°E / 28.47611; 87.21694

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Tromzikhang
Tromzikhang (Tibetan: ཁྲོམ་གཟིགས་ཁང་།; Wylie: khrom gzigs khang), is a historic building in Barkhor, Lhasa in Tibet. It is located northwest of Jokhang temple at the corner of the left side of Barkhor Tromshung Jang (street). It was demolished in the 1990s except for the magnificent facade. Today Tromzikhang is a notable market in Lhasa and a housing complex.
It was built in around 1700 on Barkhor Tromshung Jang and was once a government building for officials such as the Ambans, representatives of the Qing emperor. It was built under the command of the 6th Dalai Lama (1683–1706) and is sometimes referred to as the 6th Dalai Lama's Palace.
A widening of the Barkhor over a length of some 80 metres forms the space of the Barkor Tromshung Jang. The Tromzikhang was built on the sunny northern side of the Barkor Tromshung Jang (North Barkhor Square). The surviving, but still splendid, symmetrical, three-storied façade runs the whole length of this side of the square. Where Ramoche Lam (Barkhor Changtrom Sanlan) enters the Barkhor from the north there used to be a large stupa and mani wall, now both completely demolished. It was 40 metres at its widest and 20 metres at its narrowest.

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Tsomon Ling
Tsomon Ling, Tsomonling, Tsome Ling, Chomoling (Tsho smon gling - pronounced 'Tsemonling') is a temple in inner Lhasa, south of the Ramoche Temple, and on the corner of one of the main roads, Dekyi Shar Lam. It was one of the Four Royal Colleges or Regency Temples (Ling Shi or gLing bzhi) of Lhasa built during the 17th century after the Fifth Dalai Lama assumed both temporal as well as spiritual power. The other three Ling are Tengye Ling, Kunde Ling, and Drib Tsemchok Ling.
The present small site contains two temples; the dukang or Assembly Hall is still one of the tallest buildings in Lhasa. There is a large courtyard, on three sides of which are two-storied monks' quarters have all been turned into family residences. On the north is a building with two wings, the three-storied Karpo Podrang which dates from 1777 is on the east. It contains the assembly hall, six chapels and the reliquary of Numan Qan I on the ground level; a protector chapel on the second floor, and the residence of the monastic preceptors on the third level. The Marpo Podrang on the west contains an assembly hall with two protector chapels, a chapel dedicated to the eight Medicine Buddhas and reliquaries of Nomun Qan III and IV.

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Tumxuk
Tumxuk or Tumushuke (Chinese: 图木舒克, Pinyin: Túmùshūkè; Uyghur: تۇمشۇق‎, ULY: Tumshuq, UPNY: Tumxuk̡^?; also known as Tumushuk, Tumshuq, etc.) is a sub-prefecture-level city in the northern part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China, it is located in western Xinjiang, surrounded by Kaxgar Prefecture.

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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.

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Wanning
Wanning (simplified Chinese: 万宁; traditional Chinese: 萬寧; pinyin: Wànníng) is a county-level city in the southeast of Hainan Province, China, with an estimated population of 65,871 (2006).
Wanning lies on the east of the island and administers many small towns. It was promoted from a county to a city on August 5, 1996.
The city of Wanning produces coffee, black pepper, rubber, rice, banana, sugarcane, and others.
Tourism plays a vital role in the city. Famous for its tropical scenery, Wanning lies approximately half an hour's drive from the beach, and has several five-star hotels.
Wanning is hot throughout the year. At times it can become cold with temperatures between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius.
Coordinates: 18°48′N 110°24′E / 18.8°N 110.4°E / 18.8; 110.4

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Wenzhou
Wenzhou (simplified Chinese: 温州; traditional Chinese: 溫州; pinyin: Wēnzhōu; formerly Yongjia, Yung-chia) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. As of the 2010 census, about 3,039,500 live in the Wenzhou city proper; the area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100. The prefectural area borders Lishui to the west, Taizhou to the north, and looks out to the East China Sea on its eastern coast.
Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port, which remains well-preserved today. It is situated in a mountainous region and, as a result, has been isolated for most of its history from the rest of the country, making the local culture and language very distinct not only from the rest of China but from neighbouring areas as well. It is also known for its emigrants who leave their native land for Europe and the United States, with a reputation for being entrepreneurs who start restaurants, retail and wholesale businesses in their adopted countries. People of Wenzhou origin make up a large number of ethnic Chinese residents of Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Africa.

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West Bengal
West Bengal /bɛŋˈɡɔːl/ (proposed new English name: Paschim Banga) is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. Covering a total area of 34,267 sq mi (88,750 km²), it is bordered by the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, and the Indian states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). West Bengal encompasses two broad natural regions: the Gangetic Plain in the south and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the north.
In the 3rd century BC, the broader region of Bengal was conquered by the emperor Ashoka. In the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by several sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords, until the beginning of British rule in the 18th century. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757, and the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) served for many years as the capital of British India. The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in expansion of Western education, culminating in development in science, institutional education, and social reforms of the region, including what became known as the Bengal Renaissance. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal – a state of India – and East Bengal, which initially joined the new nation of Pakistan, before becoming part of modern-day Bangladesh in 1971.

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Winter palace
The Winter Palace (Russian: Зи́мний дворе́ц; IPA: [ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts]) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and altered almost continuously between the late 1730s and 1837, when it was severely damaged by fire and immediately rebuilt. The storming of the palace in 1917 became an iconic symbol of the Russian Revolution.
The palace was constructed on a monumental scale that was intended to reflect the might and power of Imperial Russia. From the palace, the Tsar ruled over 22,400,000 square kilometres (8,600,000 sq mi) (almost 1/6 of the Earth's landmass) and over 125 million subjects by the end of the 19th century. It was designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in what came to be known as the Elizabethan Baroque style. The green-and-white palace has the shape of an elongated rectangle, and its principal façade is 250 m long and 100 ft (30 m) high. The Winter Palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. The rebuilding of 1837 left the exterior unchanged, but large parts of the interior were redesigned in a variety of tastes and styles, leading the palace to be described as a "19th-century palace inspired by a model in Rococo style."

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Wuhan
Wuhan (simplified Chinese: 武汉; traditional Chinese: 武漢; pinyin: Wǔhàn [wùxân] ( listen)) is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers. Arising out of the conglomeration of three districts, Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang, Wuhan is known as "the nine provinces' leading thoroughfare"; it is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city. Because of its key role in domestic transportation, Wuhan was sometimes referred to as the "Chicago of China." It is recognized as the political, economic, financial, cultural, educational and transportation center of central China. The city of Wuhan, first termed as such in 1927, has a population of 10,020,000 people (Census 2011), with about 6,434,373 residents in its urban area. In the 1920s, Wuhan was the national capital of a leftist Kuomintang (KMT) government led by Wang Jingwei in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek, as well as wartime capital in 1937.

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Wujiaqu

Wujiaqu (Chinese: 五家渠; pinyin: Wǔjiāqú, Uyghur: ۋۇجياچۈ‎, ULY: Wujyachü, UPNY: Vujyaqü^?) is a sub-prefecture-level city in the northern part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China, north of Urumqi.
See also: Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps

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Wumatang
Wumatang is a village in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Coordinates: 30°30′N 91°24′E / 30.5°N 91.4°E / 30.5; 91.4

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Wuxi
Wuxi (simplified Chinese: 无锡; traditional Chinese: 無錫; pinyin: Wúxī; former spellings: Wu-shi, Wushi, or Wu-hsi; lit. "Without Tin"; Shanghai dialect: [ɦuɕiɪʔ]) is an old city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Split in half by Lake Tai, Wuxi borders Changzhou to the west and Suzhou to the east. The northern half looks across to Taizhou across the Yangtze River, while the southern half also borders the province of Zhejiang to the south. Wuxi earned its nickname "Pearl of Lake Tai" because it's built on the shore of Lake Tai in a scenic setting.^{[citation needed]} Wuxi was also dubbed "little Shanghai" because of its close proximity to the city, rapid urbanization and booming economy.^{[citation needed]} Wuxi also has a history of business people involved in modern Shanghai commerce since the early 20th century.
Although Wuxi means "No tin", scholars suggest the city name may come from "Wuxu" (吳墟), meaning ruins of the State of Wu, or a Baiyue word which may mean "god bird".
Wuxi was founded 3,000 years ago by two fugitive princes, Taibo and Zhongyong, of the Zhou from Central China, who intended to give their brother Jili (季歷) the throne. The two princes settled down in Meili (梅里), which is believed to be today's Meicun, Wuxi. (some historic records indicate a location somewhere in today's Suzhou). They helped developing local agriculture and waterways. The area soon flourished. After the death of Taibo, who had no heir, the emperor of Zhou enthroned a descendant of his family king of the State of Wu. The king named his kingdom "Gowu". Taibo's shrine was set up in today's Meicun and the original wood structure was destroyed during the wars over the course of history. However, it has been renovated several times and today's architecture dates mostly to the Qing dynasty. A stone carved with sayings by Confucius can still be seen in Taibo Shrine.

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Wuzhishan City
Wuzhishan (Chinese: 五指山市; pinyin: Wǔzhǐshān Shì) is a county-level city in the south-central part of Hainan, a province of the People's Republic of China. It was originally called Tongshi City (Chinese: 通什) and is located beside Wuzhi Shan, the mountain. The city's total area is 1129 square kilometres, and its population is 115,000 people. Its postal code is 572200, and its district number is 0898.
Coordinates: 18°46′23″N 109°31′26″E / 18.773°N 109.524°E / 18.773; 109.524

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Xainza County
Xainza County, also Shantsa, Shentsa, (Tibetan: ཤན་རྩ་རྫོང་, Wylie: shan rtsa rdzong; Chinese: 申扎县; pinyin: Shēnzhā Xiàn) is a county within the Nagchu Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region. In 1999 the county had a population of 16,190.
The capital lies at Naktsang Town or Xainza. The county covers an area of 25,546 square kilometres (9,863 sq mi). Until recent times the County extended all the way from the borders of Xinjiang in the north to the Brahmaputra River in the south, covering a larger area than the United Kingdom. It has since been split into two, Shentsa (Xainza) County and the new Nyima County to the east.
"In this region there are 67 lakes, including some of Tibet's largest: Serling, Dangra Yutso, Ngangtse-tso, Kering-tso, Taktse-tse and Uru-tso. In the northeast there are a numeber of 6,000 m peaks including Purok Gangri (6,482 m) [21,266 ft] and Norla Gangri (6,136 m), not to mention the Kunlun mountains on the Xinjiang border further north. The entire northern region forms part of the Jangtang Nature Reserve. Ten large salt fields testify to the importance of this region for the traditional trading commodity of the Jangtang Plateau."

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Xaitongmoin County
Xaitongmoin County (Chinese: 谢通门县; Pinyin: Xiètōngmén Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

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Xi'an
Xi'an (Chinese: 西安; pinyin: Xī'ān; Wade–Giles: Hsi-An, also spelled Hsi-an, Hsian, or Sian) is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty. Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.
Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of interior China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and China's space exploration program. It's now one the most populous metropolitan areas in inland China with more than 8 million inhabitants, including urban parts of Xianyang (Weicheng and Qindu districts).

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Xiamen
Xiamen (Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕjâmə̌n]), also known as Amoy /əˈmɔɪ/, is a major city on the southeast (Taiwan Strait) coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of 1575.16 km² and population of 3.61 million. Its built up area is now bigger than the old urban island area and covers now all 6 districts of Xiamen (Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang and recently Xiang'an), for a total of 3,531,147 inhabitants. It borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou making with this city a unique built up area of more than 5 million people. The Jinmen (Kinmen) Islands administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan) are less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.
Xiamen and the surrounding southern Fujian countryside are the ancestral home to large communities of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The city was a treaty port in the 19th century and one of the four original Special Economic Zones opened to foreign investment and trade when China began economic reforms in the early 1980s. It is endowed with educational and cultural institutions supported by the overseas Chinese diaspora. In 2006, Xiamen was ranked as China's second 'most suitable city for living'.

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Xining
Xining (simplified Chinese: 西宁; traditional Chinese: 西寧; pinyin: Xīníng; Wade–Giles: hsi-ning; Tibetan: ཟི་ལིང་།; alternatively spelled Silung) is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.
Xining has a history of over 2100 years and was a chief commercial hub on the Hexi Corridor caravan route to Tibet, handling especially timber, wool and salt in ancient times. The trade along the Hexi Corridor was part of a larger trade corridor along the Northern Silk Road, whose use was intensified in the 1st century BC after efforts by the Han Dynasty to control this route.
Under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) a county there called Linqiang controlled the local Qiang tribesmen. It was again a frontier county under the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties; during the 7th and early 8th centuries it was a center of constant warfare with the Tuyuhun and (later) the Tibetan peoples. In 763, it was overrun by the Tibetans and while under Tibetan control was known to the Chinese as Qingtangcheng. Recovered by the Song dynasty in 1104, it received the name Xining (meaning "peace in the west") and has been the seat of a prefecture or superior prefecture under that name since that time. With the rise of Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism), which began in the 7th century, Xining became an important religious center; Qinghai's largest lamasery, a holy place to the Yellow Hat sect of Buddhists, was located at Kunbum, some 19 km to the southeast.

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Xuzhou
Xuzhou (Chinese: 徐州; pinyin: Xúzhōu), otherwise known as Pengcheng (Chinese: 彭城; pinyin: Péngchéng) in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is known for its convenient location as a transportation hub in northwestern Jiangsu, as it has expressways and railway links connecting directly to the provinces of Henan and Shandong, the neighboring port city of Lianyungang, as well as the economic hub Shanghai.
Before the adoption of Hanyu Pinyin, the city's name was typically Romanized as Suchow, although also appearing as Hsu-chou,Hsuchow,^{[citation needed]} and Hsüchow.^{[citation needed]}
During the Xia and Shang Dynasties (c. 2200–1600 BC), Xuzhou lay in an area inhabited by the Dongyi or Huaiyi peoples who were constantly at war with the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. The Xuzhou region was called Huaiyang^{[disambiguation needed ]} during the Zhou Dynasty (1600 BC–256 BC) since the Huai River crosses the area. During the Spring and Autumn Period (771 BC–426 BC), Xuzhou was a collection of small farming/fishing villages and towns and formed part of the border region between the Zhou vassal States of Chu, Wu and Qu. Both the States of Pi and Peng lay within its borders. Xuzhou was at one time a capital of the State of Xu, a vassal state exterminated by the State of Wu in 512 BC. In turn, Wu was conquered by the State of Yue a few decades later. Chu gradually expanded its influence around Xuzhou after absorbing the nearby State of Cai in 447 BC followed by the conquest of the State of Yue in 334 BC. By the Warring States Period, it was firmly in the cultural and administrative sphere of Chu. The State of Chu moved to this area in 278 BC after the Qin army captured its old capital, Ying, in modern Jingzhou, Hubei.

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Yadong County
Chomo (Yadong) County (Tibetan: གྲོ་མོ་རྫོང༌།, Wylie: gro-mo rdzong; simplified Chinese: 亚东; traditional Chinese: 亞東; pinyin: Yàdōng; Wade–Giles: Ya-tung) is a frontier county and trade-market of Tibet, situated in the mouth of the Chumbi valley near the Indian frontier. It lies in the middle part of Himalayas and the south of Tibet Autonomous Region, covering about 4,306 square kilometers with a population of 10,000. In the Tibetan language, Yatung is said to mean "rushing deep valley".
The town of Yadong (Chomo) Coordinates: 27°29′22″N 88°54′21″E / 27.48944°N 88.90583°E / 27.48944; 88.90583 is very close to the borders of both the Indian state of Sikkim and Bhutan and has a hotel, a guest house, some government offices and army barracks.
The famous local specialities are Yadong fish, barley wine and others. Pali Town of Yadong is noted for being the highest town of the world. The main tourist sites of Yadong are Donggar Monastery, Garju Monastery and Kangbu Hotspring. Yadong is connected to the Indian state of Sikkim via the Nathula Pass.

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Yangbajain
Yangbajain (also spelled Yangbajing) is a town approximately 87 kilometers (54 mi) north-west of Lhasa, halfway to Damxung in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. The town lies just south of the Nyainqêntanglha Mountains, in an upland lush green valley surrounded by the tents of nomads with grazing yak and sheep populating the hillside. It is the site Yangpachen Monastery, which was historically the seat of the Shamarpas of Karma Kagyü and the Yangbajing International Cosmic Ray Observatory.
The area is famous for the Yangbajain hot springs, which have been harnessed to produce much of the electricity for the capital Lhasa. There is a thermoelectric power plant on the edge of the Yangbajain hot springs field covering 20–30 square kilometers. The thermoelectric power plant was established in 1977, and the first development of geothermal power not only in Tibet but in the whole of China.
The Yangbajain hot springs field is at an altitude of 4290–4500 m which makes it the highest altitude set of hot springs in China, and possibly the world. The highest temperature inside the drilling hole is 125.5°C.

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Yantai
Yantai (Chinese: 烟台; pinyin: Yāntái) is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.
The largest fishing seaport in Shandong and a robust economic center today, Yantai used to be known to the West as Chefoo, a misnomer which refers, in Chinese, solely to Zhifu Island, which is historically governed by Yantai.
The contemporary name of Yantai came from the watchtowers constructed on Mount Qi in 1398, during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty (yan—smoke; tai—tower). The towers served to raise alarms against invasions of Japanese pirates.
The prefecture-level city of Yantai administers 12 county-level divisions, including 4 districts, 7 county-level cities, 1 county and one development zone.
These are further divided into 148 township-level divisions, including 94 towns, 6 townships and 48 subdistricts.

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Yecheng
Coordinates: 37°53′6″N 77°24′47″E / 37.885°N 77.41306°E / 37.885; 77.41306
Yecheng, Karghilik or Karghalik, also known as Chokkuka, is a city in Xinjiang, China. It is 249 km by road northwest to Kashgar, and 249 km south to Mazar.
Yecheng is the name of both the oasis and the town, and is situated on the southern rim of the Taklamakan desert is about halfway between Pishan and Yarkand on the southern route around the Tarim Basin. It is about 50 km north of Kokyar, The rich loess terraces of the oasis are watered by the Tiznaf river and several smaller streams. They are joined to the north by a belt of cultivated land stretching about 40 km from the town of Yecheng to the Yarkand River.
During the Han Dynasty it was known as Xiye and also Piaosha or 'Drifting Sands'. It was noted for producing baicao (白草 literally "white grass") which gave a very poisonous substance used on arrow tips - probably the sap of Aconitium napellus, a plant of the poisonous Aconitum family known in English as monkshood or wolfsbane.

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Yerpa
Yerpa (also known as: Brag Yer-pa, Drak Yerpa, Druk Yerpa, Dagyeba, Dayerpa, and Trayerpa), is only a short drive to the east of Lhasa, Tibet, and consists of a monastery and a number of ancient meditation caves that used to house about 300 monks.
The entrance to the Yerpa Valley is about 16 km northeast of Lhasa on the northern bank of the Kyichu. From there, it is another 10 km to the famous ancient meditation caves in the spectacular limestone cliffs of the Yerpa Valley. (Tibetan: བྲག་ཡེར་པ་, Wylie: Brag Yer-pa)
There are a number of small temples shrines and hermitages and the cliffs contain some of the earliest known meditation sites in Tibet, some dating back to pre-Buddhist times. Among the more famous are those traditionally connected with Songtsen Gampo (604–650 CE), (traditionally the 33rd king of the Yarlung Dynasty and first emperor of a united Tibet). His Tibetan queen, Monza Triucham, founded the Dra Yerpa temple here.
He and his two foreign-born queens are said to have meditated in the 'Peu Marsergyi Temple' and in the 'Chogyel Puk', and to have discovered 'self-originated' symbols of the Buddha-body, speech and mind. Padmasambhava, or Guru Rinpoche (late 8th to early 9th century), meditated and practiced tantric yoga with his yogini Yeshe Tsogyal here, and to have spent 7 months in meditation in the 'Dawa Puk', which is considered to be one of his three most important places of attainment.

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Yinchuan
Yinchuan is the capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, and former capital of the Western Xia Empire of the Tanguts. It has an area of 4,467 km² and a total population of 1.99 million. Its built up area is home to 1,290,170 inhabitants spread on 3 urban districts. The name of the city literally means "silver river"; the character for "river" (川) is the same as that in Sichuan, but not as those in, for example, the Yellow River (黄河) or Yangtze River (长江).
Yinchuan originally was a xian (county) under the name of Fuping in the 1st century BC; its name was changed to Huaiyuan in the 6th century AD. After the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907, it was occupied by the Tangut Xi-Xia dynasty, of which it was the capital. After the destruction of the Xi-Xia dynasty by the Mongols in 1227, it came under the rule of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Under the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties, it was a prefecture of Ningxia. In 1928, when the province of Ningxia was formed from parts of Gansu and Inner Mongolia, it became the capital city. In 1954, when Ningxia province was abolished, the city was put in Gansu province; but, with the establishment of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in 1958, Yinchuan once again became the capital.

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Zanda County
Zanda County (Tibetan: རྩ་མདའ་རྫོང་ wylie: rtsa mda' rdzong; Chinese: 札达县; Pinyin: Zhádá Xiàn) is a county in the Ngari Prefecture to the extreme south west of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Coordinates: 31°29′03″N 79°41′11″E / 31.48417°N 79.68639°E / 31.48417; 79.68639

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Zaxoi
Zaxoi is a village in Maizhokunggar County the Lhasa Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.

Coordinates: 30°06′N 91°46′E / 30.1°N 91.767°E / 30.1; 91.767

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Zayü County
Zayü County (Tibetan: རྫ་ཡུལ་རྫོང་, Wylie: rdza yul rdzong; Chinese: 察隅县; pinyin: Cháyú Xiàn) is a county of the Nyingtri Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Chinese claims include parts of Arunachal Pradesh, south of the McMahon Line, what was casus belli for the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Coordinates: 29°20′37″N 97°29′45″E / 29.34361°N 97.49583°E / 29.34361; 97.49583

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Zhag'yab County
Zhag'yab County, (Tibetan: བྲག་གཡབ་རྫོང་ Wylie brag g-yab rdzong; Chinese: 察雅县; Pinyin: Cháyǎ Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region,
Coordinates: 31°26′15″N 97°56′45″E / 31.4375°N 97.94583°E / 31.4375; 97.94583

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Zhanang County
Zhanang County, (Tibetan:གྲ་ནང་རྫོང་ Wylie gra nang rdzong; Chinese: 扎囊县; Pinyin: Zhānáng Xiàn) is a county of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region, As of 2000 it had a population of 35,278.
Coordinates: 29°27′54″N 91°36′40″E / 29.465°N 91.61111°E / 29.465; 91.61111

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Zhangmu
Zhangmu (Tibetan: འགྲ་མ།, Wylie: gra ma, ZYPY: Zhama; Chinese: 樟木; Nepali: Khasa) is a customs town and port of entry located in Nyalam County on the Nepal-China border, just uphill and across the Bhote Koshi River from the Nepalese town of Kodari. At 2300 meters above sea level, Zhangmu has mild and humid subtropical climate, which is a rarity for Tibet.
Chinese trucks traveling on the Friendship Highway offload goods at Zhangmu and transfer them to Nepalese trucks.
Coordinates: 27°59′N 85°59′E / 27.99°N 85.98°E / 27.99; 85.98

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Zhejiang
Coordinates: 29°12′N 120°30′E / 29.2°N 120.5°E / 29.2; 120.5
Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; pinyin: Zhèjiāng; Wade–Giles: Che-chiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to its first character, "浙".
Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.
The area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth century to eleventh century BC). Instead, this area was populated by peoples collectively known as the Yue, such as the Dongyue and the Ouyue. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Yue emerged in northern Zhejiang. The Yue state was heavily influenced by the Chinese civilization further north. Under King Goujian of Yue, Yue reached its zenith and was able to wipe out the powerful state of Wu to its immediate north, in 473 BC. Then, in 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by the state of Chu, which was to the west. In 221 BC, the state of Qin completed the conquest of the last of the formerly independent states of China, including the state of Chu. This conquest made what is now Zhejiang part of a unified Chinese empire.

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Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (Chinese: 郑州; pinyin: Zhèngzhōu; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʂɤ̂ŋtʂóu̯]; Postal map spelling: Chengchow), is the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China. A prefecture-level city, it also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub for Central China. The city centre lies on the southern bank of the Yellow River, and is one of the Eight Great Ancient Capitals of China.
With 8,626,505 inhabitants according to the 2010 census and 3,980,250 in its built-up area (6 urban districts + 5 City + 1 County), the city is one of the main built up areas of Henan region. Zhengzhou is now a rapidly growing city.
The Shang Dynasty established Aodu (隞都) or Bodu (亳都) in Zhengzhou (see also: History of China). This pre-historical city had been long lost even before the time of the First Emperor of China. Since 1950 archaeological finds in a walled city in Eastern Zhengzhou known have provided evidence of Neolithic Shang Dynasty settlements in the area.^{[citation needed]} Outside this city, in addition to remains of large public buildings, a complex of small settlements has been discovered. The site is generally identified with the Shang capital of Ao. It is preserved in the Shang Dynasty Ruins monument in Guanchen District. The Shang, who continually moved their capital due to frequent natural disasters, left Ao at around 13th century BC. The site, nevertheless, remained occupied; Zhou (post-1050 BC) tombs have also been discovered. Traditionally it is held that in the Western Zhou period (1111–771 BC) it became the fief of a family named Guan. From this derives the name borne by the county (xian) since the late 6th century BC — Guancheng (City of the Guan). The city first became the seat of a prefectural administration in AD 587, when it was named Guanzhou. In 605 it was first called Zhengzhou — a name by which it has been known virtually ever since.

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Zhongba County
Zhongba County (Tibetan: འབྲོང་པ་རྫོང༌།, ZYPY: Zhongba Zong; Chinese: 仲巴县; Pinyin: Zhōngbā Xiàn) is a county of the Shigatse Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Located in western Tibet, it is the largest county of the prefecture.
Zhongba County has a population of 18,000 and covers 43,594 square kilometers. It is prone to quakes and suffered another large one, 6.8 on the Richter scale on 30 August, 2008. Although it left a 10 km crack in a north-south direction at the epicenter located at 31° north and 83.6° east, houses were damaged and roads blocked by falling rocks, no one has been reported as injured. It is heavily populated with lakes such as Taruo Lake, Ang Laren Lake and Renqingxiubu Lake.
China National Highway 219

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Zhuhai
Zhuhai (Chinese: 珠海) is a prefecture-level city on the southern coast of Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in the Pearl River Delta, Zhuhai borders Jiangmen to the northwest, Zhongshan to the north, and Macau to the south. Zhuhai was one of the original Special Economic Zones established in the 1980s. Zhuhai is also one of China's premier tourist destinations, being called the Chinese Riviera.
The prefecture-level city of Zhuhai administers 3 county-level divisions and 3 special economic districts, all of which are districts.
Zhuhai borders the Macau Special Administrative Region (north and west), and 140 km southwest of Guangzhou. Its territory counts 146 islands and a coastline of 690 km.
The islands within the prefecture-level city of Zhuhai include a number of near-shore islands, often connected to the mainland by bridges or causeways (such as Hengqin, Qi'ao, or Yeli Islands), as well as some islands further away in the Pearl River estuary (such as the Nei Lingding Island) or the open South China Sea (the Wanshan Archipelago). Some of the latter are actually geographically closer to Hong Kong than to the Zhuhai mainland.

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Zibo
Zibo (Chinese: 淄博; pinyin: Zībó) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the west, Laiwu and Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou the north.
Located in the middle part of Shandong Province, Zibo is an important transportation hub. Zibo governs 5 districts (Zhangdian, Zichuan, Boshan, Zhoucun and Linzi) and each of these districts has a distinct downtown area of their own. The T-shaped city has a total area of 5,938 square kilometers-three counties (Huantai, Gaoqing and Yiyuan) included ; the total population of the city is 4.53 million at the 2010 census, of which nearly 3 million are in the city proper.

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Zogang County
Zogong County, (Tibetan: མཛོ་སྒང་རྫོང་ Wylie mdzo sgang rdzong; Chinese: 左贡县; Pinyin: Zuǒgòng Xiàn) is a county of the Chamdo Prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region,

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Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( /uːˈruːmtʃi/), formerly Tihwa, is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.
With a built up population of 2,744,280 as of 2010 census (5 urban districts plus Midong) and 2.3 in urban districts, Ürümqi, whose name means "beautiful pasture" in the Mongolian language of the Dzungar people, is the largest city in China's western interior. Since the 1990s Ürümqi has developed economically and now serves as a regional transport node and commercial centre.
Although Ürümqi is situated near the northern route of the Silk Road, it is likely to be a relatively young city. According to Chinese scholars, during the 22nd year of Emperor Taizong's reign in the Tang Dynasty, AD 648, the Tang government set up the town of Luntai in the ancient town seat of Urabo, 10 kilometers from the southern suburb of present-day Ürümqi. Ancient Luntai Town was a seat of local government, and collected taxes from the caravans along the northern route of the Silk Road.

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14th Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935) is the 14th and current Dalai Lama, as well as the longest lived incumbent. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.
The Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at the age of 15. He inherited control over a government controlling an area roughly corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a joint Chinese-Tibetan administration.

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2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. What originally began as an annual observance of Tibetan Uprising Day resulted in street protests by monks, that later descended into rioting, burning, looting, and killing by March 14. The violence was mostly directed at Han and Hui civilians by Tibetans participating in the unrest. Police intervened to prevent the conflict from further escalation. At the same time but also in response, protests mostly supporting the Tibetans erupted in cities in North America and Europe. 18 Chinese embassies and consulates were attacked.
According to the Tibet regional government, the unrest was motivated by separatism and orchestrated by the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama denied the accusation and said that the situation was caused by wide discontent in Tibet. The Government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama held talks on the riots on May 4 and July 1 of the same year.

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Anhui
Coordinates: 31°50′N 117°0′E / 31.833°N 117°E / 31.833; 117
Anhui (Chinese: 安徽; pinyin: Ānhuī; Wade–Giles: An-hui, Mandarin pronunciation: [ánxwéi]) is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny section in the north. The capital of the province is Hefei.
The name "Anhui" derives from the names of two cities in south Anhui, Anqing and Huizhou (now Huangshan City). The abbreviation for Anhui is "皖" (Wǎn), because there were historically a State of Wan, a Mount Wan, and a Wan river in the province.
The province of Anhui was formed in the seventeenth century. Before then, there was no coherent concept of "Anhui". Northern Anhui was firmly a part of the North China Plain in terms of culture, together with modern-day Henan province. Central Anhui constituted most of the fertile and densely-populated Huai He River watershed. Southern Anhui, along the Yangtze, was closer to Hubei and southern Jiangsu provinces in culture. Finally, the hills of southeastern Anhui formed a unique and distinct cultural sphere of its own.

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Beijing
Beijing ( /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/; Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng, [peɪ˨˩ t͡ɕiŋ˥]), formerly romanized as Peking ( /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The metropolis, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by Hebei Province with the exception of neighboring Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city by urban population after Shanghai and is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. Beijing is a major transportation hub in the national highway, expressway, railway and high-speed rail network. Beijing's Capital International Airport is the second busiest in the world by passenger traffic.

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Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artistes of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation.
A multimedia star, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings and motion picture grosses. His early career coincided with technical recording innovations; this allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como,Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.

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Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and Pāli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end ignorance (avidyā), craving (taṇhā), and suffering (dukkha), by recognizing dependent origination and sunyata, and attain Nirvana.
Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tiantai (Tendai) and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications, Vajrayana—practiced mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and Russia—is recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of Mahayana. There are other categorisations of these three Vehicles or Yanas.

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Buddhist
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy indigenous to the Indian subcontinent and encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly known as the Buddha (meaning "the awakened one" in Sanskrit and Pāli). The Buddha lived and taught in the eastern part of Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end ignorance (avidyā), craving (taṇhā), and suffering (dukkha), by recognizing dependent origination and sunyata, and attain Nirvana.
Two major branches of Buddhism are recognized: Theravada ("The School of the Elders") and Mahayana ("The Great Vehicle"). Theravada has a widespread following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana is found throughout East Asia and includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Shingon, Tiantai (Tendai) and Shinnyo-en. In some classifications, Vajrayana—practiced mainly in Tibet and Mongolia, and adjacent parts of China and Russia—is recognized as a third branch, while others classify it as a part of Mahayana. There are other categorisations of these three Vehicles or Yanas.

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China
China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.

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Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution (Chinese: 文化大革命; pinyin: Wénhuà Dàgémìng), was a social-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976. Set into motion by Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Communist Party of China, its stated goal was to enforce socialism in the country by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society, and to impose Maoist orthodoxy within the Party. The revolution marked the return of Mao Zedong to a position of absolute power after the failed Great Leap Forward. The movement politically paralyzed the country and significantly affected the country economically and socially.
The Revolution was launched in May 1966. Mao alleged that bourgeois elements were infiltrating the government and society at large, aiming to restore capitalism. He insisted that these "revisionists" be removed through violent class struggle. China's youth responded to Mao's appeal by forming Red Guard groups around the country. The movement spread into the military, urban workers, and the Communist Party leadership itself. It resulted in widespread factional struggles in all walks of life. In the top leadership, it led to a mass purge of senior officials who were accused of taking a "capitalist road", most notably Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. During the same period Mao's personality cult grew to immense proportions.

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Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word далай (dalai) meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ bla-ma (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".
In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.
For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.

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District of China
The term district, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China.
In the modern context, districts (simplified Chinese: 区; traditional Chinese: 區; Hanyu Pinyin: qū; Tongyong Pinyin: cyu) refer to two types of divisions in the People's Republic of China: city districts and the soon-to-be-phased-out county districts (also known as district public offices). Districts can also refer to a type of division in the Republic of China on Taiwan.
However, if the word "district" is encountered in the context of ancient Chinese history, then it is a translation for xian, another type of administrative division in China.
A city district (市辖区, pinyin: shìxiáqū, lit. a city-governed district) is a subdivision of a municipality or a prefecture-level city. The rank of a district derives from the rank of its city. Districts of a municipality are prefecture-level; districts of a sub-provincial city are sub-prefecture-level; and districts of a prefecture-level city are county-level.

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Doje Cezhug
Doje Cezhug is the current mayor of Lhasa. He is an outspoken critic of the Dalai Lama for his alleged role in instigating the 2008 Lhasa violence and pursues a growth-based economic policy in Lhasa anchored in tourism.
Cezhug rose to prominence as a critic of the 2008 Lhasa violence, and its alleged instigators, the advisors of the Dalai Lama. He published an article in China Daily on April 1 of that year, titled "Do you call this peaceful?" In it, he rejects characterizations of the riots as "peaceful demonstrations", and mocks the "hypocrisy" of the Dalai Lama claiming to represent peace and nonviolence. 18 civilians have died and 250 million yuan were lost in the violence. Soon after, though, Cezhug was safely able to attend the national PCC conference, where he announced that Lhasa was calm and that he did not have to impose martial law. The mayor accepted some criticism of his policies, saying "The March 14 riot exposed some problems and they have now all been solved". In the two years since the riot, the "floating population" has been more strictly controlled, and living standards have increased, say the mayor.

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Drapchi Prison
Drapchi Prison, or Lhasa Prison No. 1 (simplified Chinese: 拉萨第一监狱; traditional Chinese: 拉薩第一監獄) is the largest prison in Tibet, located in Lhasa.
Originally built as a Tibetan military garrison, Drapchi was transformed into a prison after the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
It officially opened as a prison in 1965 and consists of a series of nine units and has recently been expanded and restructured. It has an estimated population of 1000 of which some 600 are thought to be political prisoners ranging in age from 18 to 85 many of which are captured monks and nuns.
According to Central Tibetan Administration, the prison has gained a notorious reputation and is feared by the Tibetans due to its strong management. Reports of brutality have been alleged by Tibetan exile groups.
In November 1994, 13 nuns were sent to Drapchi to serve a 5-year sentence for endangering state security by protests against the Chinese rule in Lhasa. In April 1996, all the inmates of Unit 3 of Drapchi prison, consisting of nearly 100 female political prisoners, went on a hunger strike in protest of their treatment. The week-long strike caused the prison officers some concern that it might damage the reputation of the prison further if the inmates died as a result and promised an end to the brutality.

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Elizabeth Arden
Florence Nightingale Graham (December 31, 1884 – October 18, 1966), who went by the business name Elizabeth Arden, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Incorporated, and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. At the peak of her career, she was one of the wealthiest women in the world.
Arden was born in 1884 in Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada. Her parents had emigrated to Canada from Cornwall, United Kingdom in the 1870s. Her father, William Graham, was Scottish and her mother, Susan, was Cornish and had arranged for a wealthy aunt in Cornwall to pay for her children's education. Arden dropped out of nursing school in Toronto.
She then joined her elder brother in New York City, working briefly as a bookkeeper for the E.R. Squibb Pharmaceuticals Company. While there, Arden spent hours in their lab, learning about skincare. She then worked—again briefly—for Eleanor Adair, an early beauty culturist, as a "treatment girl".
In 1909 Arden formed a partnership with Elizabeth Hubbard, another culturist. When the partnership dissolved, she coined the business name "Elizabeth Arden" from her former partner and from Tennyson's poem "Enoch Arden". With a $6,000 loan from her brother, she then used the shop space to open her first salon on 5th Avenue. The name red door salon was also a stroke of genius. In those days, all building were grey in colour and looked alike so to create a point of difference, she painted the door to her salon red! Thus the name red door salon was born.

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Fujian
Coordinates: 25°54′N 118°18′E / 25.9°N 118.3°E / 25.9; 118.3
Fujian (help·info) (Chinese: 福建), formerly romanised as Fukien or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait. The name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou (a former name for Jian'ou) two cities in Fujian, during the Tang Dynasty. With a Han majority, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China.
Most of Fujian is administered by the People's Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu are under the control of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Thus, there are two provinces (in the sense of government organizations): the Fujian Province administered by the People's Republic of China and the Fujian Province of the Republic of China.
Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 6th millennium BC. From the Keqiutou site (7450–5590 BP), an early Neolithic site in Pingtan Island located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) southeast of Fuzhou, numerous tools made of stones, shells, bones, jades, and ceramics (including wheel-made-ceramics) have been unearthed, together with spinning wheels, a definitive evidence of weaving.

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Gansu
Coordinates: 38°0′N 102°20′E / 38°N 102.333°E / 38; 102.333
Gansu (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 甘肃; traditional Chinese: 甘肅; pinyin: Gānsù; Wade–Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.
It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east. The Yellow River passes through the southern part of the province.
Gansu has a population of 26 million (2009) and has a large concentration of Hui Chinese, and the historical home, along with Shaanxi of the dialect of the Dungans, who are Hui who migrated to Central Asia. The southwestern corner of Gansu is home to a large Tibetan population. The capital is Lanzhou, located in the southeast part of the province. Gansu is abbreviated as "甘" (Gān) or "陇" (Lǒng), and is also known as Long West or Long Right, in reference to the Long Mountain east of Gansu.

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Guan Yu
Guan Yu (died 219) was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the first emperor.
As one of the best known Chinese historical figures throughout East Asia, Guan's true life stories have largely given way to fictionalized ones, mostly found in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms or passed down the generations, in which his deeds and moral qualities have been lionized. Guan is respected as an epitome of loyalty and righteousness.
Guan was deified as early as the Sui Dynasty and is still worshipped by many Chinese people today, especially in southern China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong and their descendants overseas. He is a figure in Chinese folk religion, popular Confucianism, Taoism, and Chinese Buddhism, and small shrines to Guan are almost ubiquitous in traditional Chinese shops and restaurants.

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Guangdong
Coordinates: 23°24′N 113°30′E / 23.4°N 113.5°E / 23.4; 113.5
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province. It surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in the province for at least six months of the year. The provincial capital Guangzhou and economic hub Shenzhen are amongst the most populous and important cities in China.
Since 1989 Guangdong has topped the total GDP rankings among all provincial-level divisions, with Jiangsu and Shandong second and third in rank. According to provincial annual preliminary statistics, Guangdong's GDP in 2010 reached CNY 4,550 billion, or USD 689.02 billion, making its economy roughly the same size as that of Turkey or Indonesia. Guangdong has the fourth highest GDP per capita among all provinces of mainland China, after Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Liaoning. The province contributes approximately 12% of the PRC's national economic output, and is home to the production facilities and offices of a wide-ranging set of multinational and Chinese corporations. Guangdong also hosts the largest Import and Export Fair in China called the Canton Fair in Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou.

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Guangzhou
Guangzhou (Chinese: 广州; Mandarin pronunciation: [kwɑ̀ŋʈʂóʊ̯]), known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about 120 km (75 mi) north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port. One of the five National Central Cities, it holds sub-provincial administrative status.
Guangzhou is the third largest city in China and southern China's largest city. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12.78 million. Some estimates place the population of the entire Pearl River Delta Mega City built up area as high as 40 million including Shenzhen (10.36 million), Dongguan (8.22 million) and most parts of Foshan (7.19 million), Jiangmen (4.45 million), Zhongshan (3.12 million) and a small part of Huizhou adjoining Dongguan and Shenzhen, with an area of about 20,000 square kilometres (7,700 sq mi) (about the size of US state of New Jersey). In 2008 Guangzhou was identified as a Beta World City by the global city index produced by GaWC.

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Hebei
Coordinates: 39°18′N 116°42′E / 39.3°N 116.7°E / 39.3; 116.7
Hebei (help·info) (Chinese: 河北; pinyin: Héběi; Postal map spelling: Hopeh) is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "冀" (jì), named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province (zhou) that included what is now southern Hebei. The name Hebei means "north of the river", referring to its location completely above the Yellow River.
In 1928, Hebei was formed after the central government dissolved the province of Chih-li (直隸), which means "Directly Ruled (by the Imperial Court)".
Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, which border each other, were carved out of Hebei. The province borders Liaoning to the northeast, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi to the west, Henan to the south, and Shandong to the southeast. Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea is to the east. A small part of Hebei, an exclave disjointed from the rest of the province, is wedged between the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin.

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Heinrich Harrer
Heinrich Harrer (German pronunciation: [ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈhaʁɐ]; 6 July 1912 – 7 January 2006) was an Austrian mountaineer, sportsman, geographer, and author. He is best known for being on the four-man climbing team that made the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland, and for his books Seven Years in Tibet (1952) and The White Spider (1959).
Heinrich Harrer was born 6 July 1912 in Hüttenberg, Austria in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in the state of Carinthia. His father was a postal worker. From 1933 to 1938, Harrer studied geography and sports at the Karl-Franzens University in Graz. Harrer became a member of the traditional student corporation ATV Graz.
In 1935, Harrer was designated to participate in the Alpine skiing competition at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The Austrian Alpine skiing team, however, boycotted the event due to a conflict regarding the skiing instructors' status as professionals. As a result, Harrer did not participate.
In 1937, Harrer won the downhill event at the World Student Championships at Zell am See.

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Hong Kong
Coordinates: 22°16′42″N 114°09′32″E / 22.27833°N 114.15889°E / 22.27833; 114.15889
Hong Kong (Chinese: 香港) is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is known for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km² (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839–42). Originally confined to Hong Kong Island, the colony's boundaries were extended in stages to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and then the New Territories in 1898. It was occupied by Japan during the Pacific War, after which the British resumed control until 1997, when China resumed sovereignty. The region espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism during the colonial era. The time period greatly influenced the current culture of Hong Kong, often described as "East meets West", and the educational system, which used to loosely follow the system in England until reforms implemented in 2009.

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Hubei
Hubei (help·info) (Chinese: 湖北; pinyin: Húběi; Wade–Giles: Hu-pei; Postal map spelling: Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting. The provincial capital is Wuhan.
Hubei is officially abbreviated to "鄂" (È), an ancient name associated with the eastern part of the province since the Qin dynasty, while a popular name for Hubei is "楚" (Chǔ), after the powerful state of Chu that existed here during the Eastern Zhou dynasty. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, and Shaanxi to the northwest. The high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province.
By the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC), the territory of today's Hubei was part of the powerful state of Chu. Chu was nominally a tributary state of the Zhou Dynasty, and it was itself an extension of the Chinese civilization that had emerged some centuries before in the north; but it was also culturally unique, and was a powerful state that held onto much of the middle and lower Yangtze River, with power extending northwards into the North China Plain.

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Hui people
The Hui people (Chinese: 回族; pinyin: Huízú, Xiao'erjing: حُوِ ذَو / حواري) are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group in China. Hui people are found throughout the country, though they are concentrated mainly in the provinces of Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu. According to a 2000 census, China is home to approximately 9.8 million Hui people, the majority of whom are Chinese-speaking practitioners of Islam, though some practice other religions. Although many Hui people are ethnically similar to Han Chinese, the group has retained some Persian and Central Asian features, their ethnicity and culture having been shaped profoundly by their position along the Silk Road trading route.
In the People's Republic of China, the Hui people are one of 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. Under this definition, the Hui people are defined to include all historically Muslim communities in People's Republic of China that are not included in China's other ethnic groups. Since China's Muslims speaking various Turkic, Mongolic, or Iranian languages are all included into those other groups (e.g., Uyghurs, Dongxiang, or Tajiks) the "officially recognized" Hui ethnic group consists predominantly of Chinese speakers. In fact, the "Hui nationality" is unique among China's officially recognized ethnic minorities in that it does not have any particular non-Chinese language associated with it.

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Inner Mongolia
Coordinates: 44°N 113°E / 44°N 113°E / 44; 113
Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: s , Öbür Monggol and c Өвөр Монгол, Övör Mongol; Chinese: 内蒙古; pinyin: Nèi Měnggǔ, but officially romanized to Nei Mongol) is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation. Its capital is Hohhot and the largest city is Baotou.
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was established in 1947 on the area of former Republic of China provinces of Suiyuan, Chahar, Rehe, Liaobei and Xing'an along with the northern parts of Gansu and Ningxia. It is the third-largest subdivision of China spanning about 1,200,000 km² (463,000 sq mi) or 12% of China's total land area. It has a population of about 24 million as of 2004. The majority of the population in the region are Han Chinese, with a substantial Mongol minority. The official languages are Chinese and Mongolian, the latter written in the Mongolian script, as opposed to the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet used in the state of Mongolia.

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Islam in China
Throughout the history of Islam in China, Chinese Muslims have influenced the course of Chinese history. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society.Muslims live in every region in China, as China is home to a large population of Muslims.
According to China Muslims' traditional legendary accounts, Islam was first brought to China by Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqas. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society. "Islam expanded gradually across the maritime and inland silk routes from the 7th to the 10th centuries through trade and diplomatic exchanges."
Islam in China has a rich heritage. Islam was first introduced in China in 616-18 AD by Sahaba (companions) of Muhammad namely Waqqas (Sad ibn abi Waqqas), Sayid, Wahab ibn Abu Kabcha and another Sahaba. Wahab ibn abu Kabcha (Wahb abi Kabcha) might be a son of al-Harth ibn Abdul Uzza (known as Abu Kabsha). See the text: "The Prophet was entrusted to Halimah...Her husband was Al-Harith bin Abdul Uzza called Abi Kabshah, from the same tribe". It is noted in other accounts that Wahab Abu Kabcha reached Canton by sea in 629 CE.

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Je Tsongkhapa
Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), whose name means “The Man from Onion Valley”, was a famous teacher of Tibetan Buddhism whose activities led to the formation of the Geluk school. He is also known by his ordained name Lobsang Drakpa (blo bzang grags pa) or simply as Je Rinpoche (rje rin po che).
Tsongkhapa heard Buddha’s teachings from masters of all Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and received lineages transmitted in the major schools.
His main source of inspiration was the Kadampa tradition, the legacy of Atiśa. Based on Tsongkhapa’s teaching, the two distinguishing characteristics of the Gelug tradition are:
Born into a nomadic family in Amdo province in 1357, Tsongkhapa received the layman ordination (skt. Upasaka) at the age of three from the 4th Karmapa, Rolpe Dorje, and was entitled “Kunga Nyingpo” (kun dga’ snying po). At the age of seven he took the novice ordination (skt. Sramanera, tib. Getsul) from Choje Dhondup Rinchen (chos rje don ’grub rin chen) and was given the name “Lobsang Drakpa” (blo bzang grags pa). It was at this early age that he was able to receive the empowerments of Heruka Chakrasamvara, Hevajra, and Yamantaka, three of the most prominent wrathful deities of Tibetan Buddhism, as well as being able to recite a great many Sutras, not the least of which was Manjushri-nama-samgiti. He would go on to be a great student of the Buddhist Vinaya, the doctrine of behaviour, and even later of the Six Yogas of Naropa, the Kalachakra Tantra, and the acclaimed practice of Mahamudra. At the age of 24 Tsongkhapa received the ordination of a full monk (skt. Bhikshu, tib. Gelong) in the Sakya Tradition.

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Jinan
Coordinates: 36°40′N 116°59′E / 36.667°N 116.983°E / 36.667; 116.983
Jinan (Chinese: 济南; pinyin: Jǐnán; Mandarin pronunciation: [t͡ɕi˧˩nan˧˥];) is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city, which holds sub-provincial administrative status, is located in north-western Shandong about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the national capital of Beijing, it borders Liaocheng to the southwest, Dezhou to the northwest, Binzhou to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Laiwu to the southeast, and Tai'an to the south.

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Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
The city covers an area of 15 km². The altitude averages 1,289 m/4,282 ft. above sea level. The city is located in the western extremity of China, near the border with Tajikistan.
The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasia”. The name is Middle Iranic in its origin, meaning "Kush Mountains" (from gar/ghar, "mountain", and Kush/Kâsh, being the same as the ethnonym of the Kushan Empire and the Hindukush mountains in the neighboring Afghanistan.
An early Chinese name was 疏勒 (now Shule County), variously romanized as Su-leh, Sulei, Shule, Shu-le', She-le, Shu-lo or Sha-le, which perhaps represents either an original Solek or Sorak.^{[citation needed]}

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Liaoning
Coordinates: 41°06′N 122°18′E / 41.1°N 122.3°E / 41.1; 122.3
Liaoning (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 辽宁; traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng; Manchu: ᠯᡳᠶᠣᠣ ᠨᡳᠩ, Liyoo ning) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" (pinyin: liáo), a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace". The modern province was established in 1907 as Fengtian province (奉天 pinyin: Fèngtiān; Postal map spelling: Fengtien; Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠᡳ ᡳᠮᡳᠶᠠᠩᡤᠠ, Abkai imiyangga) and the name was changed to Liaoning in 1929. Under the Japanese puppet Manchukuo regime, the province reverted to its 1907 name, but the name Liaoning was restored in 1945.
Liaoning is located in the southern part of the Northeast, and is often called "the Golden Triangle" because of its superior geographical location, with the Yellow Sea (Korea Bay) and the Bohai Sea in the south, North Korea in the southeast, Jilin province to the northeast, Hebei province to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest. The Yalu River marks the border between North Korea and the province. It empties into the Korea Bay between Dandong, Liaoning and Sinŭiju, North Korea.

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Liu Jianqiang
Liu Jianqiang (Jianqiang Liu) is a Chinese investigative reporter, an environmentalist and non-fiction writer.
Liu Jianqiang is currently a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley in California. He also works as columnist and associate editor for the influential web-based news service: chinadialogue.net
Liu was a senior investigative reporter for 南方周末 (Southern Weekly), considered to be China's most influential investigative newspaper. He provided front-line and in-depth coverage of the burgeoning Chinese environmental movement. He was the first one to discover and claim that China's emerging environmental movement is a new democratic movement. See Liu's article about environmental movement online here
Some of Liu's most powerful articles include his September 2004 expose on the controversial Tiger Leaping Gorge dams in southern Yunnan province--TIGER LEAPING GORGE UNDER THREAT. When Prime Minister Wen Jiabao read this article, he suspended the dam project and ordered an investigation by the Chinese government. His December 2004 piece on genetically modified rice ignited a central government crackdown on the illegally produced foodstuffs. His March 2005 article on the controversial Summer Palace Lake Reconstruction Project led the State Environmental Protection Administration to hold China’s first ever state-level public environmental hearing.

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Macau
Coordinates: 22°10′N 113°33′E / 22.167°N 113.55°E / 22.167; 113.55
Macau (Chinese: 澳門), also spelled Macao ( /məˈkaʊ/), is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. Macau lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from Hong-Kong which is to the east, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
The territory's economy is heavily dependent on gambling and tourism, but also includes manufacturing.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony, and is both the first and last European colony in China. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 16th century and subsequently administered the region until the handover on 20 December 1999. The Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Macau stipulate that Macau operates with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2049, fifty years after the transfer. Macau was first lent by the Chinese empire as a trading port in the 16th century, and had to administer the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty. In 1887, Macau became a colony of the Portuguese empire and its sovereignty transferred to the Portuguese.

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Me Agtsom
Mes-ag-tshoms, Me Aktsom, Kridê Zukzain or Kridê Zukzän (Wylie: Khri-lde-gtsug-btsan, Chinese: 墀德祖贊^{[citation needed]}, 尺帶珠丹, 棄隸蹜贊; pinyin: ^{[citation needed]}, Chǐdàizhūdān, Qìlìsùzàn) (704–755 CE) was a Tibetan emperor; the son of Tridu Songtsen and his queen mChims-bza' bTsan-ma Thog-thog-steng. He is usually known by his nickname "Mes-ag-tshoms" ('Old Hairy'), which was given to him later in life because he was so hirsute.
His father, Tridu Songtsen, died in 704 in battle in Mywa (probably = the Miao people) territory in Jang (Nanzhao) in modern Yunnan. The Tang Annals state he was on his way to suppress tributary kingdoms on the southern borders of Tibet, including Nepal and parts of India. There was a dispute among his sons but, "after a long time" the people put Qilisuzan (Khri-lde-gtsug-btsan) or Mes-ag-tshoms, aged only seven, on the throne.
It is very unclear, however, from the sources exactly what happened after the death of Tridu Songtsen. According to the Tibetan Annals, "he who would be crowned king" (i.e. Mes-ag-tshoms?) was born in the spring of 704, just a few months before his father died.

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Nanjing
Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; pinyin: Nánjīng; Wade–Giles: Nan-ching) is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions. Its present name means "Southern Capital" and was widely romanized as Nankin and Nanking until the Pinyin language reform, after which Nanjing was gradually adopted as the standard spelling of the city's name in most languages that use the Roman alphabet.
Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage basin and Yangtze River Delta economic zone, Nanjing has long been one of China's most important cities. It is recognized as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It was the capital of Sun Quan's Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period and the capital of the Republic of China prior to its flight to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War. Nanjing is also one of the fifteen sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China's administrative structure, enjoying jurisdictional and economic autonomy only slightly less than that of a province. Nanjing has long been a national center of education, research, transport networks, and tourism. The city will host the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.

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Pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journeying (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. In the spiritual literature of Christianity, the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude.
Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths in ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, are widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored.
In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled to Shiloh, Dan, Bethel, and eventually Jerusalem, see also Three Pilgrimage Festivals, a practice followed by other Abrahamic religions. While many religious pilgrims travel toward a specific destination, a physical location is not a necessity. One group of pilgrims in early Celtic Christianity were the Peregrinari Pro Christ, (Pilgrims for Christ), or "white martyrs". They left their homes to wander in the world. This sort of pilgrimage was an ascetic religious practice, as the pilgrim left the security of home and the clan for an unknown destination, in complete trust of Divine Providence. These travels often resulted in the founding of new abbeys and spreading Christianity among the pagan population in Britain as well as in continental Europe.

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Politics in Tibet
Politics in Tibet are structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in the People's Republic of China. Both the Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Chairman of the regional People's Congress, are by law ethnic Tibetans. There is also a branch secretary of the Communist Party of China, who receives deference in disputes. Historically, the Dalai Lama also had political power sometimes.
The first Dalai Lama to rule Tibet was the fifth in 1642. The two Dalai Lamas before him were high ranked monks from the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The first two Dalai Lamas were assigned as such posthumously.
Silöns (prime ministers) of the Ganden Podrang government:
The transition from Lamaist rule started in 1951 with the seventeen point agreement between the Central People's Government and the Dalai Lama. A "Preparatory Committee for the Autonomous Region of Tibet" (PCART) was established in 1956 to created a parallel system of administration along Communist lines. Transition to secular government completed when Tibetan Autonomous Region was officially founded in 1965 according to the national autonomy law.

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Prefecture (China)
The term Prefectures, or the more formal prefectural level divisions, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China. Other than provincial level divisions, prefectural level divisions are not mentioned in the Chinese constitution. The prefectural government (Chinese: 行政公署; pinyin: xíngzhèng gōngshǔ) is an administrative branch office with the rank of a national ministerial department (Chinese: 司级) and dispatched by the higher-level provincial government. The leader of the prefecture government, titled as prefectural commissioner (Chinese: 行政公署专员; pinyin: xíngzhèng gōngshǔ zhūanyūan), is appointed by the provincial government. Instead of local People's Congresses, the prefecture's working commission of the standing committee of the provincial People’s Congress is dispatched and supervises the prefecture governments, but can not elect or dismiss prefecture governments. The prefecture's working committee of the provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is a part of the prefecture's committee of the CPPCC. This means that the prefecture's working committee of CPPCC is a branch of the provincial committee of CPPCC, not an individual society entity. The same is valid for provincial CPPCC, which are formally sections of the national CPPCC.

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Province (China)
In the context of Chinese government, a province (sheng), formally provincial level division, is the highest-level administrative division. The People's Republic of China (PRC) currently administers 33 such divisions, classified as 22 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions and 2 special administrative regions.
Additionally, the PRC claims sovereignty over Taiwan Province, but since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 this area has been administered by the Republic of China (ROC) under a province of the same name. The ROC also administers some offshore islands including Quemoy/Kinmen (Jinmen) and Matsu (Mazu), which form Fujian Province, ROC. These were part of an originally unified Fujian province, which since 1949 has been divided between the PRC and ROC.
In the People's Republic of China, every province has a Communist Party of China provincial committee, headed by a secretary beside the two special administrative regions. The committee secretary is in charge of the province, rather than the governor of the provincial government.

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Richardson, Hugh E
Hugh E. Richardson (1905–2000) was a British diplomat and Tibetologist. His academic work focused on the history of the Tibetan empire, and in particular on epigraphy. Born in St. Andrews, he studied classics at Keble College, Oxford. He joined the civil service in 1930, and represented Britain in Lhasa, capital of Tibet, from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1946 to 1950, in the final years having become the diplomatic representative of the recently independent India. After his retirement from public service he returned to St. Andrews and spent the remainder of his life as an independent scholar.
He was an accomplished linguist who spoke Bengali fluently, a skill he put to use when conversing with Rabindranath Tagore, and his fluent Tibetan was described by the Tibetan politician Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa as "impeccable Lhasa Tibetan with a slight Oxford accent."
He was an advocate of the right of Tibetans to a separate political existence, a case he made in two books, Tibet and Its History (1962) and A Cultural History of Tibet (1968), and at the United Nations when the issue of Chinese oppression of Tibet was raised by the Irish Republic. There, in the words of one commentator, "he acted valiantly as a man of honour in a cause which has been largely lost because of the notions of political expediency, where sides are taken without regard to principle and in order not to risk aligning oneself with a potential loser, however deserving he may be" - a position which reportedly earned him the displeasure of both the British and Indian delegations to the UN Assembly.

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Sangye Gyatso
Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653–1705) was the fifth regent of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617–1682) who founded the School of Medicine and Astrology on Chags-po-ri Hill (or 'Iron Mountain') in 1694 and wrote the Blue Beryl (Blue Sapphire) treatise. The name is sometimes written Sangye Gyamtso.
By some accounts, Sangye Gyatso is believed to be the son of the 5th Dalai Lama. He ruled as regent, hiding the death of the Dalai Lama, while the infant 6th Dalai Lama was growing up, for 16 years. During this period, he oversaw the completion of the Potala palace, and also warded off Chinese politicking. Eventually, the discovery of this deception was not taken kindly by the Chinese emperor Kangxi.
He is also known for harboring disdain for Drakpa Gyeltsen. According to Lindsay G. McCune in her thesis (2007) Desi Sangye Gyamtso refers in his Vaidurya Serpo to the Lama as the "pot-bellied official" (nang so grod lhug) and states that, following his death he had an inauspicious rebirth.,
The medical college at Chagpori (lchags po ri; "Iron Mountain") was designed for monastic scholars who would, after learning esoteric arts of medicine and tantrism, mostly remain in the monastery, serving the public as would other monk scholars and lamas. In 1916, Khenrab Norbu, physician to the 13th Dalai Lama, sponsored the construction of a second secular college of Tibetan medicine and Astrology, the Mentsikhang. Mentsikhang was designed as a college for 'laypersons' who would, after receiving training, return to their rural areas for work as doctors and educators.

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Sanya
Sanya (simplified Chinese: 三亚; traditional Chinese: 三亞; pinyin: Sānyà) is the southernmost city in the People's Republic of China and one of the two prefecture-level cities in Hainan Province. According to the 2010 Census, the population of Sanya is of 685,408 inhabitants, living in an area of 1,919.58 km². The city is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination, also serving as the training site of the Chinese national beach volleyball team. Sanya is home to small concentrations of Utsul people.
The ancient name of Sanya is Yazhou (崖州), which literally means "cliff prefecture". Its history can be dated back to the Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC). Since then, it has always been within the territory of the Chinese dynasties. Due to its remoteness, Sanya is sometimes called Tianya Haijiao (天涯海角), meaning "the end of the sky and ocean". Some prime ministers in various dynasties were exiled there and the Buddhist monk Jianzhen accidentally sailed there and used the place as one of his harbors for his missionary journey to Japan.

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Shaanxi
Shaanxi (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 陕西; traditional Chinese: 陝西; pinyin: Shǎnxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province. Shaanxi is the historical home, along with Gansu of the dialect of the Dungans, of the Hui people, who emigrated out of China to Central Asia.
By regular Hanyu Pinyin rules, if tone marks are not written, both Shaanxi and the neighbouring province of Shanxi, to the east of Shaanxi, should be spelled "Shanxi"; the difference is in tone: Shānxī (山西) and Shǎnxī (陕西). To make the difference clear without tonal marks, the spelling "Shaanxi" was contrived (following the romanization system of Yuen Ren Chao) for the province of Shǎnxī, while "Shanxi" is used for the province of Shānxī. Shaanxi is the official spelling on Chinese Government's official web portal. This makes "Shaanxi" the only name of Chinese provinces that has not been romanized according to pinyin rules.

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Shandong
Coordinates: 36°24′N 118°24′E / 36.4°N 118.4°E / 36.4; 118.4
Shandong (help·info) (simplified Chinese: 山东; traditional Chinese: 山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade–Giles: Shan¹-tung¹) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism, and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world's sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius, and was later established as the center of Confucianism. Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient as well as modern north-south and east-west trading routes have helped to establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship that began in the late 19th century, Shandong has emerged as one of the most populous (95,793,065 inhabitants at the 2010 Census) and most affluent provinces in the People's Republic of China (GDP of 3.94 trillion CNY in 2010).

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Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper by population in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. It is a global city, with influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport. It is a major financial center and the busiest container port in the world.
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in eastern China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces to the west, and is bounded to the east by the East China Sea.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the first opium war and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.

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Shanxi
Coordinates: 37°42′N 112°24′E / 37.7°N 112.4°E / 37.7; 112.4
Shanxi (help·info) (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: Shānxī; Wade–Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shansi) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" (pinyin: Jìn), after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period.
The name Shanxi literally means "mountain's west", which refers to the province's location west of the Taihang Mountains. Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the north and is made up mainly of a plateau bounded partly by mountain ranges. The capital of the province is Taiyuan.
Shanxi, the territory of state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period (722 BC - 403 BC), underwent a three-way split into the states of Han, Zhao and Wei in 403 BC, the traditional date taken as the start of the Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC). By 221 BC all of these states had fallen to the state of Qin, which established the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC).

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Sichuan
Coordinates: 30°N 103°E / 30°N 103°E / 30; 103
Sichuan (help·info) (Chinese: 四川, known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan) is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu. The current name of the province, "四川", is an abbreviation of "四川路" (Sì Chuānlù), or "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "川峡四路" (Chuānxiá Sìlù), or "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty.
The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC (coinciding with the later years of the Shang Dynasty). Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established.
Shu's existence was unknown until an archaeological discovery in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui (三星堆) in Guanghan County. It is believed to be an ancient city of the Shu Kingdom, where excavations have yielded invaluable archaeological information.

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Songtsan Gambo
Songtsän Gampo (Tibetan: སྲོང་བཙན་སྒམ་པོ་, Wylie: Srong-btsan sGam-po, 569–649?/605–649?) was the founder of the Tibetan Empire (Tibetan: Bod; Chinese: 吐蕃; pinyin: Tǔbō / Tǔfán), by tradition held to be the thirty-third ruler in his dynasty. In the Chinese records, his name is given as Sōngzàngānbù (松贊干布) or Qìzōnglòngzàn (棄宗弄贊).
His mother, the queen, is identified as 'Bri-bza' Thod-dkar-ma. The dates of his birth and when he took the throne are not certain. In Tibetan accounts, it is generally accepted that he was born in in an ox-year, which means one of the following dates: 557, 569, 581, 583, 605 or 617 CE.) He is thought to have ascended the throne at age thirteen (twelve by Western reckoning), by this reckoning c. 629 CE.
There are difficulties with this position, however, and several earlier dates for the birth of Songtsän Gampo have been suggested, including 569, 593 or 605. The question must remain open.
It is said that Songtsän Gampo was born at Gyama, in Maldro (a region to the northeast of modern Lhasa), the son of the Yarlung king Namri Songtsen. The book The Holder of the White Lotus says that it is believed that he was a manifestation of the Buddhist Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, of whom the Dalai Lama are similarly believed to be a manifestation of. He is also said to have had webbed hands and feet, a deformed face and odd skin; the early Tibetans saw him as a god and enthroned him. His identification as a cakravartin or incarnation of Avalokiteśvara began in earnest in the indigenous Buddhist literary histories of the 11th. century.

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Songtsän Gampo
Songtsän Gampo (Tibetan: སྲོང་བཙན་སྒམ་པོ་, Wylie: Srong-btsan sGam-po, 569–649?/605–649?) was the founder of the Tibetan Empire (Tibetan: Bod; Chinese: 吐蕃; pinyin: Tǔbō / Tǔfán), by tradition held to be the thirty-third ruler in his dynasty. In the Chinese records, his name is given as Sōngzàngānbù (松贊干布) or Qìzōnglòngzàn (棄宗弄贊).
His mother, the queen, is identified as 'Bri-bza' Thod-dkar-ma. The dates of his birth and when he took the throne are not certain. In Tibetan accounts, it is generally accepted that he was born in in an ox-year, which means one of the following dates: 557, 569, 581, 583, 605 or 617 CE.) He is thought to have ascended the throne at age thirteen (twelve by Western reckoning), by this reckoning c. 629 CE.
There are difficulties with this position, however, and several earlier dates for the birth of Songtsän Gampo have been suggested, including 569, 593 or 605. The question must remain open.
It is said that Songtsän Gampo was born at Gyama, in Maldro (a region to the northeast of modern Lhasa), the son of the Yarlung king Namri Songtsen. The book The Holder of the White Lotus says that it is believed that he was a manifestation of the Buddhist Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, of whom the Dalai Lama are similarly believed to be a manifestation of. He is also said to have had webbed hands and feet, a deformed face and odd skin; the early Tibetans saw him as a god and enthroned him. His identification as a cakravartin or incarnation of Avalokiteśvara began in earnest in the indigenous Buddhist literary histories of the 11th. century.

wn.com/Songtsän_Gampo
Tianjin
Tianjin (help·info) (Chinese: 天津; pinyin: Tiānjīn; Mandarin pronunciation: [tʰjɛ́ntɕín]; Tianjinese: /tʰiɛn˨˩tɕin˨˩/~[tʰjɛ̃̀ɦɪ̀ŋ]; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.
As a dual-core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.
In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China, and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) ranks fifth in the nation after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA).

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Tibetan Muslims
The Tibetan Muslims, also known as the Kachee (Tibetan: ཀ་ཆེ་, Wylie: ka-che; also spelled Kache), form a small minority in Tibet. Despite being Muslim, they are officially recognized as Tibetans by the government of the People's Republic of China, unlike the Hui Muslims, who are separately recognized. The Tibetan word Kachee literally means Kashmiri and Kashmir was known as Kachee Yul (Yul means Country).
Generally speaking, the Tibetan Muslims are unique in the fact that they are largely of Kashmiri and Persian/Arab/Turkic descent through the patrilineal lineage and also often descendants of native Tibetans through the matrilineal lineage, although the reverse is not uncommon. Thus, many of them display a mixture of Aryan and indigenous Tibetan features.
The appearance of the first Muslims in Tibet has been lost in the mists of time, although variants of the names of Tibet can be found in Arabic history books.
During the reign of the Ummayad Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz, a delegation from Tibet and China requested him to send Islamic missionaries to their countries, and Salah bin Abdullah Hanafi was sent to Tibet. Between the eighth and ninth centuries, the Abbasid rulers of Baghdad maintained relations with Tibet. However, there was little proselytisation among the missionaries at first, although many of them decided to settle in Tibet and marry Tibetan women. In 710-720,during the reign of Me Agtsom the Arabs, who now had more of a presence in China, started to appear in Tibet and were allied with them along with the Eastern Turks against the Chinese. During the reign of Sadnalegs (799-815), there was a protracted war with Arab powers to the West. It appears that Tibetans captured a number of Arab troops and pressed them into service on the Eastern frontier in 801. Tibetans were active as far West as Samarkand and Kabul. Arab forces began to gain the upper hand, and the Tibetan governor of Kabul submitted to the Arabs and became a Muslim about 812 or 815

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Tibetan people
The Tibetan people (Tibetan: བོད་པ།་, Wylie: Bodpa; Chinese: 藏族; pinyin: Zàng Zú) are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Khampas of Tibet are originally from Mongolia.
Tibetans speak the Tibetan language, which belongs to the Sino-Tibetan languages and has many mutually unintelligible dialects. The traditional, or mythological, explanation of the Tibetan people's origin is that they are the descendants of the monkey Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa and rock ogress Ma Drag Sinmo. Most Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, though some observe the indigenous Bön and others are Muslims. Tibetan Buddhism influences Tibetan art, drama, and architecture, while the harsh geography of Tibet has produced an adaptive culture of Tibetan medicine and cuisine.
As of 2008, there are 5.4 million Tibetans in China. The SIL Ethnologue in 2009 documents an additional 189,000 Tibetan language speakers living in India, 5,280 in Nepal, and 4,800 in Bhutan. The Central Tibetan Administration's (CTA) own refugee register counts 145,150 Tibetans outside Tibet: a little over 100,000 in India; in Nepal there are over 16,000; over 1,800 in Bhutan and more than 25,000 in other parts of the world. There are Tibetan communities in the Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Norway, Taiwan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA.^{[citation needed]}

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Tibetans
The Tibetan people (Tibetan: བོད་པ།་, Wylie: Bodpa; Chinese: 藏族; pinyin: Zàng Zú) are an ethnic group that is native to Tibet, which is mostly in the People's Republic of China. They number 5.4 million and are the 10th largest ethnic group in the country. Significant Tibetan minorities also live in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Khampas of Tibet are originally from Mongolia.
Tibetans speak the Tibetan language, which belongs to the Sino-Tibetan languages and has many mutually unintelligible dialects. The traditional, or mythological, explanation of the Tibetan people's origin is that they are the descendants of the monkey Pha Trelgen Changchup Sempa and rock ogress Ma Drag Sinmo. Most Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism, though some observe the indigenous Bön and others are Muslims. Tibetan Buddhism influences Tibetan art, drama, and architecture, while the harsh geography of Tibet has produced an adaptive culture of Tibetan medicine and cuisine.
As of 2008, there are 5.4 million Tibetans in China. The SIL Ethnologue in 2009 documents an additional 189,000 Tibetan language speakers living in India, 5,280 in Nepal, and 4,800 in Bhutan. The Central Tibetan Administration's (CTA) own refugee register counts 145,150 Tibetans outside Tibet: a little over 100,000 in India; in Nepal there are over 16,000; over 1,800 in Bhutan and more than 25,000 in other parts of the world. There are Tibetan communities in the Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Norway, Taiwan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA.^{[citation needed]}

wn.com/Tibetans
Trisong Detsen
Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན (Tibetan Wylie: khri srong lde btsan [ʈʂʰisoŋ tetsɛ̃]; PRC: Chisong Dêzain; THDL: Trisong Detsen; other transcriptions: Trisong Detsan, Thrisong Detsän; traditional Chinese: 赤松德贊; simplified Chinese: 赤松德赞; pinyin: Chìsōng Dézàn; Thi-srong-detsan), was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled from 755 until 797 or 804 CE. Trisong Detsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and the establishment of the Nyingma, or 'Ancient' school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Trisong had five wives, all of whom came from Tibetan noble families. According to the later hagiographic tradition of Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, the Princess of Karchen was a wife of the emperor and also one of Padmasambhava's consorts. She is said to have recorded Padmasambhava's teachings and became known for her own Buddhist realizations. Another wife, Tse Pongza, the principal wife of Trisong Detsen, and the mother of the heir apparent, became known for being the counterpole of Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal, fighting for the Bön religion and against Buddhism. One of Trisong Detsen's children was Princess Pema Sal, who was entrusted by Padmasambhava with an important terma.

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Wen Cheng
Princess Wencheng (Tibetan: Mung-chang Kungco, Chinese: 文成公主, pinyin: Wénchéng Gōngzhǔ) (died 680) was a niece of the powerful Emperor Taizong of China's Tang Dynasty, who left China in 640, according to records, arriving the next year in Tibet to marry the thirty-seven year old Songtsän Gampo (605?–650 CE) the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet, in a marriage of state as part of a peace treaty along with large quantities of gold. She is popularly known in Tibet as Gyasa, or 'Chinese wife'. The princess is portrayed as a Buddhist and, along with Songtsän Gampo's Nepalese wife, Bhrikuti Devi, is said to have introduced Buddhism to Tibet. The details regarding Wencheng are scarce and there is uncertainty amongst historians as to whether she truly existed.^{[citation needed]}
The Chinese records mention receiving an envoy in 634 from Songtsän Gampo wherein the king requested (Tibetan sources say demanded) to marry a Chinese princess and was refused. In 635/636 the Tibetan king's forces attacked and defeated the 'A zha people (Chinese: Tüyühün), who lived around Lake Koko Nor in present-day Qinghai, along an important trade route into China. After a campaign against China in 635–6 (OTA l. 607) (during which Chinese won) the Chinese emperor agreed (under threat of force, according to Tibetan histories) to marry a Chinese princess to king Songtsän Gampo as part of the diplomatic settlement. As a marriage of state, the union must be considered a success as peace between China and Tibet prevailed for the remainder of Songtsen Gampo's reign.

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Xi'an
Xi'an (Chinese: 西安; pinyin: Xī'ān; Wade–Giles: Hsi-An, also spelled Hsi-an, Hsian, or Sian) is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty. Xi'an is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, having held the position under several of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, including Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang. Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army.
Since the 1990s, as part of the economic revival of interior China especially for the central and northwest regions, the city of Xi'an has re-emerged as an important cultural, industrial and educational centre of the central-northwest region, with facilities for research and development, national security and China's space exploration program. It's now one the most populous metropolitan areas in inland China with more than 8 million inhabitants, including urban parts of Xianyang (Weicheng and Qindu districts).

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Xiamen
Xiamen (Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕjâmə̌n]), also known as Amoy /əˈmɔɪ/, is a major city on the southeast (Taiwan Strait) coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of 1575.16 km² and population of 3.61 million. Its built up area is now bigger than the old urban island area and covers now all 6 districts of Xiamen (Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang and recently Xiang'an), for a total of 3,531,147 inhabitants. It borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou making with this city a unique built up area of more than 5 million people. The Jinmen (Kinmen) Islands administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan) are less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away.
Xiamen and the surrounding southern Fujian countryside are the ancestral home to large communities of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. The city was a treaty port in the 19th century and one of the four original Special Economic Zones opened to foreign investment and trade when China began economic reforms in the early 1980s. It is endowed with educational and cultural institutions supported by the overseas Chinese diaspora. In 2006, Xiamen was ranked as China's second 'most suitable city for living'.

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Xinjiang
Xinjiang (XUAR) (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ‎, ULY: Shinjang; Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕíntɕjɑ́ŋ]; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade–Giles: Hsin¹-chiang¹; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km². Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
It is home to a number of different ethnic groups including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, and Mongol. More than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities are located in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, and East Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 4.3% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation.

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Zhejiang
Coordinates: 29°12′N 120°30′E / 29.2°N 120.5°E / 29.2; 120.5
Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; pinyin: Zhèjiāng; Wade–Giles: Che-chiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to its first character, "浙".
Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.
The area of modern Zhejiang was outside the major sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (sixteenth century to eleventh century BC). Instead, this area was populated by peoples collectively known as the Yue, such as the Dongyue and the Ouyue. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the state of Yue emerged in northern Zhejiang. The Yue state was heavily influenced by the Chinese civilization further north. Under King Goujian of Yue, Yue reached its zenith and was able to wipe out the powerful state of Wu to its immediate north, in 473 BC. Then, in 333 BC, Yue was in turn conquered by the state of Chu, which was to the west. In 221 BC, the state of Qin completed the conquest of the last of the formerly independent states of China, including the state of Chu. This conquest made what is now Zhejiang part of a unified Chinese empire.

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Lhasa de Sela - De cara a la pared

A live video with Lhasa de Sela...

published: 24 Jul 2006

author: onubufonu

CON TODA PALABRA

Music Video for Lhasa De Sela. Directed by Ralph Dfouni & Brigitte Henry....

published: 07 Oct 2006

author: kimdakim27

Lhasa Con toda palabra

Check this out, she's got an amazing voice. Lhasa is a mexican/american/canadian singer an...

published: 30 Oct 2007

author: montecarlostar

Lhasa - Rising [Official Music Video]

Distributed in the US by WMG. "Rising" by Lhasa de Sela from the album Lhasa de Sela, avai...

published: 11 Jun 2009

author: NettwerkMusic

Lhasa, Tibet: People and Places

Photographs of people and places in and around Lhasa from my May/June 2006 Tibetan trip. T...

published: 03 Sep 2007

author: TravelWithMike

Lhasa de Sela " Is anything wrong"

Music from the latest album "Lhasa", 2009...

published: 01 Oct 2009

author: Tryshnna

Lhasa de Sela - Anywhere on This Road

...

published: 30 Nov 2008

author: SpinozaBe

Lhasa de Sela - Pa'Llegar a tu Lado

Festival d'été de Québec 2005. Une version Haute Qualité de ce clip est aussi disponible :...

published: 24 Jul 2007

author: MaitreMenator

LHASA - La Marée Haute

I love the mood this song gives me...

published: 20 Sep 2008

author: oanaingrid

Lhasa - My name

Why don't you ask me How long I've been waiting Set down on the road With the gunshots exp...

published: 01 Aug 2008

author: Miguel Teixeira

La Marée Haute

Title: La Marée Haute Artist: Lhasa De Sela Album: The Living Road (2003)...

published: 10 Mar 2008

author: Spiritualsigns

Lhasa de Sela - Love Came Here

Artist:Lhasa de Sela Song:Love Came here Album: Lhasa...

published: 29 Sep 2009

author: izgrejala1412

Lhasa De Sela - Love Came Here [Live In Montreal]

Distributed in the US by WMG. In memory and honor of world recognized musician, the late L...

published: 18 Sep 2009

author: nettwerkbackstage

Lhasa de Sela Performs : "Who by Fire" (by Leonard Cohen)

Lhasa de Sela (lhasadesela.com Performs Leonard Cohen's "Who by Fire" at Le Festival Inter...

published: 30 Sep 2009

author: JamesBMotion

Fiume Night 11 _ Lhasa de Sela & Patrick Watson _ Montreal, april 2009

montreal, canada, april 11th, 9.45pm "between the bars" (elliott smith) images by vincen...

published: 14 Apr 2009

author: Vincent Moon / Petites Planètes

LHASA_LIVE IN MONTREAL 2009, part 1

IS ANYTHING WRONG images: vincent moon sounds: matthieu parisien management: david-etienn...

published: 19 Jun 2009

author: Vincent Moon / Petites Planètes

Walking Through Mist (Part I)

Part one of the two part film in memory of singer/songwriter Lhasa de Sela (1972-2010). V...

published: 07 Nov 2011

author: Kurtis Hough

Craig Mod - Edges and Boundaries and the Future Book

What do the roof of a hotel in Lhasa, the Steve Jobs biography, Kindle book covers, Borges...

published: 19 Dec 2011

author: Build

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photo: AP / Bullit Marquez

Residents cross a river in the flash flood-hit village of Andap, New Bataan township, Compostela Valley in southern Philippines Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012.

About 350 die in Philippine typhoon, 400 missing

Herald Tribune

06 Dec 2012

NEW BATAAN, Philippines - A powerful typhoon that washed away emergency shelters, a military camp and possibly entire families in the southern Philippines has killed almost 350 people with nearly 400 missing, authorities said Thursday. More bodies were retrieved from hardest-hit Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental provinces and six others impacted by Tuesday's storm, the Office of Civil Defense reported ... "It was horrible ... --- ... Location....(size: 8.0Kb)

photo: AP / Guatemala's Human Rights Ombudsman's office

In this photo released by Guatemala's Human Rights Ombudsman's office, software company founder John McAfee is pictured in an immigration detention center in Guatemala City, Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012.

McAfee hospitalized after being denied asylum

The Salt Lake Tribune

07 Dec 2012

By SONIA PEREZ-DIAZ. The Associated Press. First Published Dec 06 2012 09.10 am • Updated 1 minute ago ... ....(size: 0.8Kb)

photo: AP / Osama Faisal

Local and international activists march inside a conferences center to demand urgent action to address climate change at the U.N. climate talks in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Dec.7, 2012.

Doha climate talks: US faces dilemma over final text

BBC News

08 Dec 2012

There has been a historic shift in the UN climate talks in Qatar, with the prospect of rich nations having to compensate poor nations for losses due to climate change. The US has fiercely opposed the measure - it says the cost could be unlimited. But after angry tussles throughout the night the principle of Loss and Damage is now in the final negotiating text ... The political stakes are high ... "I will block this ... "I will block this ... ....(size: 3.1Kb)

photo: AP / Vahid Salemi

File - Iranian worshippers listen to a sermon during Friday prayers as an Iranian flag flutters at Tehran University, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 6, 2012.

Can Saudi Arabia and Iran Reestablish the Medina Pact?

WorldNews.com

07 Dec 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. The in- and out-fighting between present-day Saudi Arabia and Iran is a mirror image of what occurred to Prophet Muhammad's Islamic Movement right after his death ... Still, and due to prosperity and wealth, an influx of trade goods, religious toleration, an emphasis on learning, and increased food supplies, Islam was becoming a vast empire ... Recent U.S ... Dallas Darling (darling@wn.com)....(size: 7.5Kb)

photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

Egyptian protesters gather outside the presidential palace after they broke through a barbed wire barricade that was keeping them from getting closer to the presidential palace, in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 7, 2012.

Egypt's opposition to shun Morsi talks

Al Jazeera

08 Dec 2012

Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian president, is expected to press ahead with talks on ways to end Egypt's worst crisis since he took office even though the country's main opposition leaders have vowed to boycott negotiations. The capital Cairo and other cities have been rocked by violent protests since November 22, when Morsi issued a decree awarding himself sweeping powers that put him above the law ... 575 Source .. Al Jazeera and agencies ... ....(size: 19.5Kb)

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Thangka art exhibition to open in Zhejiang

CNTV

08 Dec 2012

A Thangka art exhibition will open at Quzhou Museum in Zhejiang Province on Dec. 9, 2012, aiming to improve the cultural exchanges between Tibet and inland cities and increase people's understanding of Tibetan culture.  . A Thangka work by famous Thangka master Norbu Sidar [Photo/China Tibet Online] ... The famous Thangka master is also the only repair painter for the murals at the Potala Palace, landmark of the holy city of Lhasa ... ....(size: 6.5Kb)

Foothills Brewing is a Hop-Heads' Heaven, Part Two

The Examiner

08 Dec 2012

Welcome to Part Two of our dichotomy on Winston-Salem's own Foothills Brewing, the Hop-Heads' Heaven. Last time we covered some of the newer and seasonal offerings, but now we take a look at the Jade phenomenon, some of the old tried and trues, and bourbon-laced favorites. Jade ... Jade was designed by Foothills head brewer T.L ... Lhasa BeerWeyerbacher InsanityRJ Rockers Fish ParalyzerCraggie's Antebellum AleGuinness Foreign Extra Stout....(size: 4.8Kb)

Saluting the spirit

The Hindu

06 Dec 2012

Drapchi, which premiered at Osians Cinefan festival in New Delhi earlier, was screened at the Warsaw International Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival- in competition for Best Film on Human rights ... Krishna Iyer, has been brought up in Mumbai ... Excerpts… ... The title of the film is a metaphor from the Drapchi prison in Lhasa ... The film was shot in Nepal, the United States, the Netherlands and Lhasa, Tibet ... Keywords....(size: 3.5Kb)

Steve McCurry, National Geographic Photojournalist, Celebrated In New Book And Exhibit (PHOTOS)

Huffington Post

06 Dec 2012

Steve McCurry's photographs are nothing short of iconic, evidenced by his 1985 image of a green-eyed Afghan girl that graced the cover of National Geographic that year ... McCurry's intensely saturated photos are the subject of an eponymous book by Phaidon Press ... (See slideshow for images.) ... Monk at Jokhang temple, Lhasa, Tibet, 2000 ‘There was something about his face,’ McCurry has said of this monk at the Jokhang temple in Lhasa, Tibet ... ....(size: 8.0Kb)

Special screening of 6 award-winning Indian films

The Hindu

06 Dec 2012

The International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) 2012, opening on Friday, will screen six movies by Indian directors in the category of ‘Top Angle’ movies ... For him, life is a meaningless journey from place to place ... Namgyal Lhamo plays the lead role as Yiga Gyalnang, an opera singer who gets arrested and is held as a prisoner at the Drapchi prison in Lhasa, Tibet. Koormavatara, directed by Girish Kasaravalli and starring Dr....(size: 2.2Kb)

1,000 Tibetan children with heart disease to receive free treatments

CNTV

06 Dec 2012

LHASA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Approximately 1,000 Tibetan children with congenital heart disease will receive free treatments by Chinese Lunar New Year in 2013, as part of a charity program aiming to cure children with the disease in poor families in ethnic minority-dominated areas ... "We want to send warmth and hopes to more families and children in the region," Xu said ... Chinese Lunar New Year in 2013 falls on Feb. 10.   Related stories ... ....(size: 5.8Kb)

Co-op wants to kick out resident's pooch

New York Post Online

05 Dec 2012

Inwood Terrace Inc ... Rosario had argued that she needed her pet Max, a Lhasa Apso-Schnawzer mix, to help ease her depression and anxiety, and a judge agreed, ruling that she could keep the dog and even receive $13,000 for legal fees ... ... ....(size: 1.4Kb)

That Cat Is a Real Jewel: How Some Furry Friends Stay Precious

Wall Street Journal

05 Dec 2012

By GEOFFREY A. FOWLER. Natalie Pilon's diamond is her best friend. Every time she looks into the ring on her finger, Ms. Pilon sees Meowy, her late beloved silver cat. Meowy really is there ... But Ms ... Zofrea ... Megan Oswald-Held collected samples of hair from three of her dogs, a Yorkie-poo and two Lhasa Apsos, and mixed that with a sample of hair she saved from her deceased Lhasa Apso, Jade, to make a three-quarter-carat radiant-cut diamond....(size: 7.0Kb)

Co-op sues tenant to boot dog she uses as anxiety cure

New York Daily News

05 Dec 2012

He's a woman’s best friend — but no substitute for Prozac ... The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday, also seeks to vacate a ruling by the state Division of Human Rights that declared Ivelice Rosario had a right to keep the Lhasa apso-schnauzer mix in the co-op, despite a “no pets” rule. The co-op at 99 Hillside Ave ... The Division of Human Rights agreed on Sept ... bross@nydailynews.com ....(size: 2.1Kb)

‘Considerable progress’ on border talks, says Menon

The Hindu

04 Dec 2012

Mr ... Menon said ... Consular presence. Mr ... Asked about earlier reports that said India had pitched for a Consulate in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), he said India had “not asked for Lhasa officially,” China has, for now, ruled out allowing diplomatic presence considering its sensitivities on the Tibet issue, with the United States also pushing for a Consulate in Lhasa. “I think they find Lhasa difficult,” Mr ... Mr....(size: 5.3Kb)

Fancy driving from Delhi to Bangkok? Here's how!

The Times of India

04 Dec 2012

Fancy a trip to Bangkok? Not by air, as most would imagine, but a road trip ... "We have got a great response ever since we started this venture ... The 25-day, 7,000 km expedition which will be open to not more than 15-20 people, will take one through the majestic Kathmandu in Nepal to the Everest base camp, all the way to Lhasa in Tibet and then driving past one of the deepest gorges in the world in China ... ....(size: 4.2Kb)

Gold becomes payment instrument

The Himalayan

04 Dec 2012

  . Added At. 2012-12-04 9.06 PM. Last Updated At. 2012-12-04 9.06 PM ... Close ... “The Department of Customs has asked the different customs points between Nepal and China to be more vigilant based on ‘reports’ regarding gold being smuggled from China,” said director at Department of Customs Shyam Dahal, adding that the Chinese customs office at Lhasa has also ensured its support ... ....(size: 5.6Kb)

photo: WN / Yeshe Choesang

Women with traditional costume at the 2nd gathering of the swearing in ceremony of Sangay, newly elected political leader of Tibet, on 9th August 2011, Dharamshala, India.

Photos of the week: celebrations of “Tibet Women's Day”

CNTV

03 Dec 2012

In the early morning of the 28th Nov., the masses of believers went to the Jokhang Temple for religious ceremonies to worship Palden Lhamo on the "Women's Festival".[Photo/Chinanews.com]. In cities like Lhasa, the professional women always asked their male colleagues or supervisors to treat them for a huge banquet ... Text.A A AEmail Share .. Topics. - Space. Asia´s largest radio telescope. - Festival ... ....(size: 4.9Kb)

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For other uses, see Lhasa (disambiguation).

This article is about Lhasa prefecture-level city. See Chengguan District, Lhasa for the urban area of Lhasa

Lhasa ལྷ་ས་ 拉萨 Lasa
— Prefecture-level city —
拉萨市 · ལྷ་ས་གྲོང་ཁྱེར།
From top: The Potala Palace, Lhasa's most famous landmark, a city view of Lhasa, Barkor Street, and Jokhang Square
Lhasa Location in the Tibet Autonomous Region
Lhasa Location in China
Coordinates: 29°39′N 91°07′E / 29.65°N 91.117°E / 29.65; 91.117
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Tibet
Government
• Mayor	Doje Cezhug
• Deputy mayor	Jigme Namgyal
Area
• Land	53 km² (20 sq mi)
Elevation	3,490 m (11,450 ft)
Population (2009)
• Prefecture-level city	1,100,123
• Urban	373,000
• Major Nationalities	Tibetan; Han; Hui
• Languages	Tibetan, Mandarin, Jin language (Hohhot dialect)
Time zone	China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Area code(s)	850000
Website	http://www.lasa.gov.cn/

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Lhasa

Chinese name

Traditional Chinese

拉薩

Simplified Chinese

拉萨

Hanyu Pinyin

Lāsà

Literal meaning

place of the gods

Transcriptions
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin	Lāsà
Min
- Hokkien POJ	la sat
Wu
- Romanization	la平sah入
Cantonese (Yue)
- Jyutping	laai¹saat³

Tibetan name

Tibetan

ལྷ་ས་

Transcriptions
- Wylie	lha sa
- THDL	Lhasa
- Tibetan Pinyin	Lhasa
- Lhasa IPA	[l̥ásə] or [l̥ɜ́ːsə]

Lhasa ( /ˈlɑːsə/, Tibetan: ལྷ་ས་གྲོང་ཁྱིར།, ZYPY: Lhasa Chongkyir, [l̥ásə] or [l̥ɜ́ːsə]; simplified Chinese: 拉萨; traditional Chinese: 拉薩; pinyin: Lāsà; sometimes spelled Lasa) is the administrative capital and a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining, and at an altitude of 3,490 metres (11,450 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang temple and Norbulingka palaces, many of which are located in Chengguan District, the city seat.

Etymology [link]

Lhasa literally means "place of the gods". Ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa, which either meant "goats' place", or, as a contraction of rawe sa, a "place surrounded by a wall,"^[1] or 'enclosure', suggesting that the site was originally a hunting preserve within the royal residence on Marpori Hill.^[2] Lhasa is first recorded as the name, referring to the area's temple of Jowo, in a treaty drawn up between China and Tibet in 822 C.E.^[3]

History [link]

By the mid 7th century, Songtsän Gampo became the leader of the Tibetan Empire that had risen to power in the Brahmaputra River (locally known as the Yarlung Tsangpo River) Valley. After conquering the kingdom of Zhangzhung in the west, he moved the capital from the Chingwa Taktse castle in Chongye County (pinyin: Qióngjié Xiàn), southwest of Yarlung, to Rasa (modern Lhasa) where in 637 he raised the first structures on the site of what is now the Potala Palace on Mount Marpori.

Songtsän Gampo

In CE 639 and 641, Songtsän Gampo, who by this time had conquered the whole Tibetan region, is said to have contracted two alliance marriages, firstly to a Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and then, two years later, to Princess Wen Cheng of the Imperial Tang court. Bhrikuti is said to have converted him to Buddhism, which was also the faith attributed to his second wife Wen Cheng. In 641 he constructed the Jokhang (or Rasa Trülnang Tsulagkhang) and Ramoche Temples in Lhasa in order to house two Buddha statues, the Akshobhya Vajra (depicting the Buddha at the age of eight) and the Jowo Sakyamuni (depicting Buddha at the age of twelve), respectively brought to his court by the princesses. Lhasa suffered extensive damage under the reign of Langdarma in the 9th century, when the sacred sites were destroyed and desecrated and the empire fragmented.^[4]

A Tibetan tradition mentions that after Songtsän Gampo's death in 649 C.E., Chinese troops captured Lhasa and burnt the Red Palace.^[5]^[6] Chinese and Tibetan scholars have noted that the event is mentioned neither in the Chinese annals nor in the Tibetan manuscripts of Dunhuang. Lǐ suggested that this tradition may derive from an interpolation.^[7] Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa believes that "those histories reporting the arrival of Chinese troops are not correct."^[6]

From the fall of the monarchy in the 9th century to the accession of the 5th Dalai Lama, the centre of political power in the Tibetan region was not situated in Lhasa. However, the importance of Lhasa as a religious site became increasingly significant as the centuries progressed.^[8] It was known as the centre of Tibet where Padmasambhava magically pinned down the earth demoness and built the foundation of the Jokhang Temple over her heart.^[9]

By the 15th century, the city of Lhasa had risen to prominence following the founding of three large Gelugpa monasteries by Je Tsongkhapa and his disciples. The three monasteries are Ganden, Sera and Drepung which were built as part of the puritanical Buddhist revival in Tibet.^[10] The scholarly achievements and political know-how of this Gelugpa Lineage eventually pushed Lhasa once more to centre stage.

The fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), unified Tibet and, in 1642, moved the centre of his administration to Lhasa, which thereafter became both the religious and political capital. In 1645, the reconstruction of the Potala Palace began on Red Hill. In 1648, the Potrang Karpo (White Palace) of the Potala was completed, and the Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time onwards. The Potrang Marpo (Red Palace) was added between 1690 and 1694.The name Potala is derived from Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the Dalai Lama's divine prototype, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The Jokhang Temple was also greatly expanded around this time. Although some wooden carvings and lintels of the Jokhang Temple date to the 7th century, the oldest of Lhasa's extant buildings, such as within the Potala Palace, the Jokhang and some of the monasteries and properties in the Old Quarter date to this second flowering in Lhasa's history.

By the end of the 17th century, Lhasa's Barkhor area formed a bustling market for foreign goods. The Jesuit missionary, Ippolito Desideri reported in 1716 that the city had a cosmopolitan community of Mongol, Chinese, Muscovite, Armenian, Kashmiri, Nepalese and Northern Indian traders. Tibet was exporting musk, gold, medicinal plants, furs and yak tails to far-flung markets, in exchange for sugar, tea, saffron, Persian turquoise, European amber and Mediterranean coral.^[11] In November 11 of 1750, the murder of the regent by the Ambans triggered a riot in the city that left more than a hundred people killed, including the Ambans.

Lhasa from the Pabonka Monastery. The Potala Palace rises above the old city.

By the 20th century, Lhasa, long a beacon for both Tibetan and foreign Buddhists, had numerous ethnically and religiously distinct communities, among them Kashmiri Muslims, Ladakhi merchants, Sikh converts to Islam, and Chinese traders and officials. The Kashmiri Muslims (Khache) trace their arrival in Lhasa to the Muslim saint of Patna, Khair ud-Din, contemporary with the 5th Dalai Lama.^[12] Chinese Muslims lived in a quarter to the south, Nepalese families to the north, of the Barkhor market. Residents of the Lubu neighbourhood were descended from assimilated Chinese vegetable farmers who stayed over after accompanying an Amban from Sichuan in the mid-nineteenth century, intermarrying with Tibetan women and adopting Tibetan language and culture.^[13] The city's merchants catered to all kinds of tastes, importing even Australian butter and British whisky. In the 1940s, according to Heinrich Harrer:-

'There is nothing one cannot buy, or at least order. One even finds the Elizabeth Arden specialties, and there is a keen demand for them. . .You can order, too, sewing machines, radio sets and gramophones and hunt up Bing Crosby records.'^[14]

Such markets and consumerism came to an abrupt end after the arrival of Chinese government troops and administrative cadres in 1950.^[15] Food rations and poorly stocked government stores replaced the old markets, until the 1990s when commerce in international wares once more returned to Lhasa,^[16] and arcades and malls with a cornucopia of goods sprang up.^[17]

Of the 22 parks (lingkas) which surrounded the city of Lhasa, most of them over half a mile in length, where the people of Lhasa were accustomed to picnic, only three survive today: the Dalai Lama's Summer Palace, constructed by the 7th Dalai Lama;^[10] a small part of the Shugtri Lingka (now the 'People's Park'); and the Lukhang. Dormitory blocks, offices and army barracks are built over the rest.^[18]

The Guāndì miào:(關帝廟) or Gesar Lhakhang temple was erected by the Amban in 1792 atop Mount Bamare 3 kilometres south of the Potala to celebrate the defeat of an invading Gurkha army.^[19]

The main gate to the city of Lhasa used to run through the large Pargo Kaling chorten and contained holy relics of the Buddha Mindukpa.^[20]

How the city of Lhasa looked from the Potala Palace in 1938

Between 1987–1989 Lhasa experienced major demonstrations, led by monks and nuns, against the Chinese Government. After Deng Xiao Ping's southern tour in 1992, however, Lhasa was declared a special economic zone. All government employees, their families and students are forbidden to practice their religion, while monks and nuns are forbidden from entering government offices and the Tibet University campus. Subsequent to the introduction of the special economic zone, the influx of migrants has dramatically altered the city's ethnic mix in Lhasa.^[21]

In 2000 the urbanised area covered 53 sq.kilometres, with a population of around 170,000. Official statistics of the metropolitan area report that 70% are Tibetan, 34.3 are Han, and the remaining 2.7 Hui, though outside observers suspect that non-Tibetans account for some 50-70%. Among the Han immigrants, Lhasa is known as ‘Little Sichuan'.^[21]

Geography [link]

Lhasa sits in a flat river valley in the Himalaya Mountains

Lhasa Prefecture covers an area of close to 30,000 km² (12,000 sq mi). It has a central area of 544 km² (210 sq mi)^[22] and a total population of 500,000; 250,000 of its people live in the urban area. Lhasa is home to the Tibetan, Han, and Hui peoples, as well as several other ethnic groups, but overall the Tibetan ethnic group makes up a majority of the total population.

Located at the bottom of a small basin surrounded by the Himalaya Mountains, Lhasa has an elevation of about 3,600 m (11,800 ft)^[23] and lies in the centre of the Tibetan Plateau with the surrounding mountains rising to 5,500 m (18,000 ft). The air only contains 68% of the oxygen compared to sea level.^[24] The Kyi River (or Kyi Chu), a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River, runs through the southern part of the city. This river, known to local Tibetans as the "merry blue waves,", flows through the snow-covered peaks and gullies of the Nyainqêntanglha mountains, extending 315 km (196 mi), and emptying into the Yarlung Zangbo River at Qüxü, forms an area of great scenic beauty. The marshlands, mostly uninhabited, are to the north.^[25] Ingress and egress roads run east and west, while to the north, the road infrastructure is less developed.^[25]

Climate [link]


Left:Lhasa. Right:Lhasa Valley

Due to its very high elevation, Lhasa has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with frosty winters and mild summers, yet the valley location protects the city from intense cold or heat and strong winds. The city enjoys nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight annually and is thus sometimes called the "sunlit city" by Tibetans. The coldest month is January with an average temperature of −1.6 °C (29.1 °F) and the warmest month is June with a daily average of 16.0 °C (60.8 °F), though nights have generally been warmer in July.^[26] The annual mean temperature is 7.98 °C (46.4 °F), with extreme temperatures ranging from −16.5 to 30.4 °C (2 to 87 °F).^[27] Lhasa has an annual precipitation of 426 millimetres (16.8 in) with rain falling mainly in July, August and September. The driest month is January at 0.8 millimetres (0.03 in) and the wettest month is August, at 120.6 millimetres (4.75 in). The rainy season is widely regarded the "best" of the year as rains come mostly at night and Lhasa is still sunny during the daytime.

Climate data for Lhasa (1971−2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	7.2 (45.0)	9.3 (48.7)	12.7 (54.9)	15.9 (60.6)	19.9 (67.8)	23.2 (73.8)	22.6 (72.7)	21.4 (70.5)	19.9 (67.8)	17.0 (62.6)	12.1 (53.8)	8.0 (46.4)	15.8 (60.4)
Average low °C (°F)	−9 (15.8)	−5.8 (21.6)	−2.1 (28.2)	1.5 (34.7)	5.6 (42.1)	9.8 (49.6)	10.4 (50.7)	9.7 (49.5)	7.7 (45.9)	2.0 (35.6)	−4.2 (24.4)	−8.2 (17.2)	1.5 (34.7)
Precipitation mm (inches)	.8 (0.031)	1.2 (0.047)	2.9 (0.114)	6.1 (0.24)	27.7 (1.091)	71.2 (2.803)	116.6 (4.591)	120.6 (4.748)	68.3 (2.689)	8.8 (0.346)	1.3 (0.051)	1.0 (0.039)	426.5 (16.791)
% humidity	28	26	27	37	44	51	62	66	63	49	38	34	43.8
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	.7	1.0	1.6	4.3	9.9	14.3	19.1	20.0	15.4	4.5	.7	.6	92.1
Mean monthly sunshine hours	250.9	226.7	246.1	248.9	276.6	257.3	227.4	219.6	229.0	281.7	267.4	258.6	2,990.2
Source: China Meteorological Administration ^[26]

Government and politics [link]

This section requires expansion.

Lhasa prefecture-level city in Tibet Autonomous Region

Main article: Administrative divisions of Lhasa

Administratively speaking, Lhasa is a prefecture-level city that consists of one district and seven counties. Chengguan District is the main urban area of Lhasa. The mayor and vice-mayor of Lhasa are Doje Cezhug and Jigme Namgyal, respectively.

#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Tibetan	Wylie	Population (2003 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)

City proper
1	Chengguan District	城关区	Chéngguān Qū	ཁྲིན་ཀོན་ཆུས་	khrin kon chus	140,000	525	267
Rural
2	Lhünzhub County	林周县	Línzhōu Xiàn	ལྷུན་གྲུབ་རྫོང་	lhun grub rdzong	60,000	4,100	14
3	Damxung County	当雄县	Dāngxióng Xiàn	འདམ་གཞུང་རྫོང	dam gzhung rdzong	40,000	10,234	4
4	Nyêmo County	尼木县	Nímù Xiàn	སྙེ་མོ་རྫོང་	snye mo rdzong	30,000	3,266	9
5	Qüxü County	曲水县	Qūshuǐ Xiàn	ཆུ་ཤུར་རྫོང་	chu shur rdzong	30,000	1,624	18
6	Doilungdêqên County	堆龙德庆县	Duīlóngdéqìng Xiàn	སྟོད་ལུང་བདེ་ཆེན་རྫོང་	stod lung bde chen rdzong	40,000	2,672	15
7	Dagzê County	达孜县	Dázī Xiàn	སྟག་རྩེ་རྫོང་	stag rtse rdzong	30,000	1,361	22
8	Maizhokunggar County	墨竹工卡县	Mòzhúgōngkǎ Xiàn	མལ་གྲོ་གུང་དཀར་རྫོང་	mal gro gung dkar rdzong	40,000	5,492	7

Economy [link]


Left:Barkhor. Right:Jokhang Market

Competitive industry together with feature economy play key roles in the development of Lhasa. With the view to maintaining a balance between population growth and the environment, tourism and service industries are emphasised as growth engines for the future. Many of Lhasa's rural residents practice traditional agriculture and animal husbandry. Lhasa is also the traditional hub of the Tibetan trading network. For many years, chemical and car making plants operated in the area and this resulted in significant pollution, a factor which has changed in recent years. Copper, lead and zinc are mined nearby and there is ongoing experimentation regarding new methods of mineral mining and geothermal heat extraction.

Agriculture and animal husbandry in Lhasa are considered to be of a high standard. People mainly plant highland barley and winter wheat. The resources of water conservancy, geothermal heating, solar energy and various mines are abundant. There is widespread electricity together with the use of both machinery and traditional methods in the production of such things as textiles, leathers, plastics, matches and embroidery. The production of national handicrafts has made great progress.

A market in Lhasa.

With the growth of tourism and service sectors, the sunset industries which cause serious pollution are expected to fade in the hope of building a healthy ecological system. Environmental problems such as soil erosion, acidification, and loss of vegetation are being addressed. The tourism industry now brings significant business to the region, building on the attractiveness of the Potala Palace, the Jokang, the Norbulingka Summer Palace and surrounding large monasteries as well the spectacular Himalayan landscape together with the many wild plants and animals native to the high altitudes of Central Asia. Tourism to Tibet dropped sharply following the crackdown on protests in 2008, but as early as 2009, the industry was recovering.^[28] Chinese authorities plan an ambitious growth of tourism in the region aiming at 10 million visitors by 2020; these visitors are expected to be domestic. With renovation around historic sites, such as the Potala Palace, UNESCO has expressed "concerns about the deterioration of Lhasa's traditional cityscape."^[29]

Banak Shöl Hotel

Lhasa contains several hotels. Lhasa Hotel is a 4-star hotel located northeast of Norbulingka in the western suburbs of the city. Completed in September 1985, it is the flagship of CITS's installations in Tibet. It accommodates about 1000 guests and visitors to Lhasa. There are over 450 rooms (suites) in the hotel, and all are equipped with air conditioning, mini-bar and other basic facilities. Some of the rooms are decorated in traditional Tibetan style. The hotel was operated by Holiday Inn from 1986 to 1997^[30] and is the subject of the book: The Hotel on the Roof of the World. Another hotel of note is the historical Banak Shöl Hotel, located at 8 Beijing Road in the city.^[31] It is known for its distinctive wooden verandas. The Nam-tso Restaurant is located in the vicinity of the hotel and is frequented especially by Chinese tourists visiting Lhasa.

Barkhor

Lhasa contains several businesses of note. Lhasa Carpet Factory, a factory south of Yanhe Dong Lu near the Tibet University produces traditional Tibetan rugs that are exported worldwide It is a modern factory; the largest manufacturer of rugs throughout Tibet employing some 300 workers. Traditionally Tibetan women were the weavers, and men the spinners, but both work on the rugs today.

The Lhasa Brewery Company was established in 1988 on the northern outskirts of Lhasa, south of Sera Monastery and is the highest commercial brewery in the world at 11,975 feet (3,650 m) and accounts for 85% of contemporary beer production in Tibet.^[32] The brewery, consisting of five story buildings, cost an estimated US$20–25 million, and by 1994, production had reached 30,000 bottles per day, employing some 200 workers by this time.^[33] Since 2000, the Carlsberg group has increased its stronghold in the Chinese market and has become increasingly influential in the country with investment and expertise. Carlsberg invested in the Lhasa Brewery in recent years and has drastically improved the brewing facility and working conditions, renovating and expanding the building to what now covers 62,240 square metres (15.3 acres).^[34]^[35]

Demographics [link]

Demographics in the past [link]

The 11th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica published between 1910–1911 noted the total population of Lhasa, including the lamas in the city and vicinity was about 30,000;^[36] a census in 1854 made the figure 42,000, but it is known to have greatly decreased since. Britannica noted that within Lhasa, there were about a total of 1,500 resident Tibetan laymen and about 5,500 Tibetan women.^[36] The permanent population also included Chinese families (about 2,000).^[36] The city's residents included people from Nepal and Ladak (about 800), and a few from Bhutan, Mongolia and other places.^[36] The Britannica noted with interest that the Chinese had a crowded burial-ground at Lhasa, tended carefully after their manner and that the Nepalese supplied mechanics and metal-workers at that time.^[36]

Lhasa in 1938

In the first half of the 20th century, several Western explorers made celebrated journeys to the city, including William Montgomery McGovern, Francis Younghusband, Alexandra David-Néel and Heinrich Harrer. As Lhasa was the centre of Tibetan Buddhism nearly half of its population were monks.

The majority of the pre 1950 Chinese population of Lhasa were merchants and officials. In the Lubu section of Lhasa, the inhabitants were descendants of Chinese men who married Tibetan women. They came to Lhasa in the 1840s-1860s when a Chinese was appointed to the position of Amban. and they grow vegetables around Lubu, and identify themselves as Tibetans. Many of the children of the Lubu citizens went to the Lhasa Kuomintang school.^[37]

According to one writer, the population of the city was about 10,000, with some 10,000 monks at Drepung and Sera monasteries in 1959^[38] Hugh Richardson, on the other hand, puts the population of Lhasa in 1952, at "some 25,000–30,000—about 45,000–50,000 if the population of the great monasteries on its outskirts be included."^[39]

An elderly Tibetan woman holding a prayer wheel on the street in Lhasa

Mendicant monk in Lhasa

Woman with son busking in Lhasa, 1993.

Contemporary demographics [link]

The total population of Lhasa Prefecture-level City is 521,500 (including known migrant population but excluding military garrisons). Of this, 257,400 are in the urban area (including a migrant population of 100,700), while 264,100 are outside.^[40] Nearly half of Lhasa Prefecture-level City's population lives in Chengguan District, which is the administrative division that contains the urban area of Lhasa (i.e. the actual city).

In terms of ethnic makeup, the exile Central Tibetan Administration asserts that ethnic Tibetans are a minority in Lhasa. An ethnic dynamic was speculated to have influenced the 2008 Tibetan unrest. However, according to the November 2000 census, the ethnic distribution in Lhasa Prefecture-level City was as follows:

Major ethnic groups in Lhasa Prefecture-level City by district or county, 2000 census^[41]
	Total	Tibetans		Han Chinese		others
Lhasa Prefecture-level City	474,499	387,124	81.6%	80,584	17.0%	6,791	1.4%
Chengguan District	223,001	140,387	63.0%	76,581	34.3%	6,033	2.7%
Lhünzhub County	50,895	50,335	98.9%	419	0.8%	141	0.3%
Damxung County	39,169	38,689	98.8%	347	0.9%	133	0.3%
Nyêmo County	27,375	27,138	99.1%	191	0.7%	46	0.2%
Qüxü County	29,690	28,891	97.3%	746	2.5%	53	0.2%
Doilungdêqên County	40,543	38,455	94.8%	1,868	4.6%	220	0.5%
Dagzê County	24,906	24,662	99.0%	212	0.9%	32	0.1%
Maizhokunggar County	38,920	38,567	99.1%	220	0.6%	133	0.3%

Architecture and cityscape [link]

Main article: Architecture of Lhasa

Lhasa has many sites of historic interest, including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery and Norbulingka. The Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the Norbulingka are UNESCO world heritage sites.^[42] However, many important sites were damaged or destroyed mostly, but not solely, during China's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s.^[43]^[44]^[45] Many have been restored since the 1980s.

The Potala Palace

The Potala Palace, named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara,^[46] was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama. After the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the government converted the palace into a museum. The site was used as a meditation retreat by King Songtsen Gampo, who in 637 built the first palace there in order to greet his bride Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty of China. Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the Potala Palace in 1645^[47] after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa.^[48] The palace underwent restoration works between 1989 to 1994, costing RMB55 million (US$6.875 million) and was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.

The graceful Lhasa Zhol Pillar, below the Potala, dates as far back as circa 764 CE.^[49] and is inscribed with what may be the oldest known example of Tibetan writing.^[50] The pillar contains dedications to a famous Tibetan general and gives an account of his services to the king including campaigns against China which culminated in the brief capture of the Chinese capital Chang'an (modern Xian) in 763 CE^[51] during which the Tibetans temporarily installed as Emperor a relative of Princess Jincheng Gongzhu (Kim-sheng Kong co), the Chinese wife of Trisong Detsen's father, Me Agtsom.^[52]^[53]

Below Chokpori

Chokpori, meaning 'Iron Mountain', is a sacred hill, located south of the Potala. It is considered to be one of the four holy mountains of central Tibet and along with two other hills in Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet.", Chokpori (Vajrapani), Pongwari (Manjushri), and Marpori (Chenresig or Avalokiteshvara).^[54] It was the site of the most famous medical school Tibet, known as the Mentsikhang, which was founded in 1413. It was conceived of by Lobsang Gyatso, the "Great" 5th Dalai Lama, and completed by the Regent Sangye Gyatso (Sangs-rgyas rgya-mtsho)^[55] shortly before 1697.

The path led past the Potala to a pond

Lingkhor is a sacred path, most commonly used to name the outer pilgrim road in Lhasa matching its inner twin, Barkhor. The Lingkhor in Lhasa was 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long enclosing Old Lhasa, the Potala and Chokpori hill. In former times it was crowded with men and women covering its length in prostrations, beggars and pilgrims approaching the city for the first time. The road passed through willow-shaded parks where the Tibetans used to picnic in summer and watch open air operas on festival days. New Lhasa has obliterated most of Lingkhor, but one stretch still remains west of Chokpori.

Norbulingka

The Norbulingka palace and surrounding park is situated in the west side of Lhasa, a short distance to the southwest of Potala Palace and with an area of around 36 hectares (89 acres), it is considered to be the largest man made garden in Tibet.^[56]^[57] It was built from 1755.^[58] and served as the traditional summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas until the 14th's self-imposed exile. Norbulingka was declared a ‘National Important Cultural Relic Unit”, in 1988 by the State council. In 2001, the Central Committee of the Chinese Government in its 4th Tibet Session resolved to restore the complex to its original glory. The Sho Dun Festival (popularly known as the "yogurt festival") is an annual festival held at Norbulingka during the seventh Tibetan month in the first seven days of the Full Moon period, which corresponds to dates in July/August according to the Gregorian calendar.

Old Barkhor street, 1993.

The Barkhor is an area of narrow streets and a public square in the old part of the city located around Jokhang Temple and was the most popular devotional circumabulation for pilgrims and locals. The walk was about one kilometre long and encircled the entire Jokhang, the former seat of the State Oracle in Lhasa called the Muru Nyingba Monastery, and a number of nobles' houses including Tromzikhang and Jamkhang. There were four large incense burners (sangkangs) in the four cardinal directions, with incense burning constantly, to please the gods protecting the Jokhang.^[59] Most of the old streets and buildings have been demolished in recent times and replaced with wider streets and new buildings. Some buildings in the Barkhor were damaged in the 2008 unrest.^[60]

Jokhang Square

The Jokhang is located on Barkhor Square in the old town section of Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is presently controlled by the Gelug school. Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace," and a spiritual centre of Lhasa. This temple has remained a key center of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries. The circumabulation route is known as the "kora" in Tibetan and is marked by four large stone incense burners placed at the corners of the temple complex. The Jokhang temple is a four-story construction, with roofs covered with gilded bronze tiles. The architectural style is based on the Indian vihara design, and was later extended resulting in a blend of Nepalese and Tang Dynasty styles. It possesses the statues of Chenresig, Padmasambhava and King Songtsan Gambo and his two foreign brides, Princess Wen Cheng (niece of Emperor Taizong of Tang China) and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal and other important items.

Ramoche Temple is considered the most important temple in Lhasa after the Jokhang Temple. Situated in the northwest of the city, it is east of the Potala and north of the Jokhang,^[61] covering a total area of 4,000 square meters (almost one acre). The temple was gutted and partially destroyed in the 1960s and its famous bronze statue disappeared. In 1983 the lower part of it was said to have been found in a Lhasa rubbish tip, and the upper half in Beijing. They have now been joined and the statue is housed in the Ramoche Temple, which was partially restored in 1986,^[61] and still showed severe damage in 1993. Following the major restoration of 1986, the main building in the temple now has three stories.

Tibet Museum

The Tibet Museum in Lhasa is the official museum of the Tibet Autonomous Region and was inaugurated on October 5, 1999. It is the first large-sized modern museum in the Tibet Autonomous Region and has a permanent collection of around 1000 artefacts, from examples of Tibetan art to architectural design throughout history such as Tibetan doors and beams.^[62]^[63] It is located in an L-shaped building, located directly below the Potala Palace on the corner of Norbulingkha Road. The museum is structured into three main sections: a main exhibition hall, a folk cultural garden and an administrative quarter.^[62]

Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument, Potala Square

The Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was unveiled in the Potala Square in May 2002 to celebrate the 51st anniversary of the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, and the work in the development of the autonomous region since then. The 37-metre-high concrete monument is shaped as an abstract Mount Everest and its name is engraved with the calligraphy of former president Jiang Zemin, while an inscription describes the socioeconomic development experienced in Tibet in the past fifty years.^[64]

Culture [link]

Music and dance [link]

Bar in Lhasa with image of Potala on wall. 1993.

There are some night spots that feature cabaret acts in which performers sing in English, Chinese, Tibetan, and Nepalese, and dancers wear traditional Tibetan costume with long flowing cloth extending from their arms. There are a number of small bars that feature live music, although they typically have limited drink menus and cater mostly to foreign tourists.

Education [link]

Tibet University [link]

Tibet University Auditorium (2007)

Tibet University (Tibetan: Tibet University is the main university of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Its campus is in Lhasa. A forerunner was created in 1952 and the university was officially established in 1985, funded by the Chinese government. About 8000 students are enrolled at the university.

Transport [link]

Mainstreet

Lhasa railway station

Rail [link]

The Qinghai–Tibet Railway which proceeds north and then east to Xining, some 2000 km, goes up to 5,072 meters above sea level, is the highest railway in the world. Five trains arrive at and depart from Lhasa railway station each day. Train numbered T27 takes 43 hours, 51 minutes from Beijing West, arrives in Lhasa at 16:00 every day. T28 from Lhasa to Beijing West departs at 13:45 and arrives in Beijing at 08:06 on the third day, taking 42 hours, 21 minutes. There are also trains from Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou, Xining, Guangzhou, Shanghai and other cities. To counter the problem of altitude differences giving passengers altitude sickness, extra oxygen is pumped in through the ventilation system, and personal oxygen masks are available on request.^[65]

Lhasa Gonggar Airport

For onward rail travel in South Asia, the closest major station in India is New Jalpaiguri, Siliguri in West Bengal. However, extension of the Indian railway system to Sikkim will make it easier for onward connections through the South Asian railway network.

Air [link]

Lhasa Gonggar Airport is located about one hour's taxi ride south from the city. There are flight connections to several Chinese cities including Beijing and Chengdu, and to Kathmandu in Nepal. A new 37.68 kilometres (23.41 mi), four-lane highway between Lhasa and the Gonggar Airport has been built by the Transportation Department of Tibet at a cost of RMB 1.5 billion. This road,is part of National Highway 318 and starts from the Lhasa Railway Station, passes through Caina Township in Qushui County, terminates between the north entrance of the Gala Mountain Tunnel and the south bridge head of Lhasa River Bridge, and en-route goes over the first overpass of Lhasa at Liuwu Overpass.^[66]

Road [link]

The Qinghai-Tibet Highway (part of G109) runs to northeast toward Xining and eventually to Beijing and is the mostly used road. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway (part of G318) runs east towards Chengdu and eventually to Shanghai. G318 also runs west toward Zhangmu on the Nepal border. The Xinjiang-Tibet Highway (G219) runs north to Yecheng, and then to Xinjiang. This road is rarely used due to the lack of amenities and petrol stations.

Maritime [link]

The closest port is Kolkata, India. The Nathu La pass offers Chinese companies access to the port of Kolkata (Calcutta), situated about 1,100 km (700 mi) from Lhasa, for transshipments to and from Tibet.

Sister cities [link]

Lhasa has four sister cities:^[67]

Boulder, Colorado, United States, since 1987
Potosí, Bolivia, since 1995
Elista, Kalmykia, Russia, since 2004
Beit Shemesh, Israel, since 2007

Footnotes [link]

^ Anne-Marie Blondeau and Yonten Gyatso, 'Lhasa, Legend and History,' in Françoise Pommaret-Imaeda (ed.)Lhasa in the seventeenth century: the capital of the Dalai Lamas, BRILL, 2003, pp.15-38, pp.21-22.
^ John Powers, Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Snow Lion Publications, 2007, p.144.
^ Anne-Marie Blondeau and Yonten Gyatso, 'Lhasa, Legend and History,' pp.21-22.
^ Dorje (1999), pp. 68-9.
^ Charles Bell (1992). Tibet Past and Present. CUP Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. p. 28. ISBN 81-208-1048-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=U7C0I2KRyEUC&pg=PA28&dq=chinese+captured+lhasa+650&hl=en&ei=zfRNTJCsOcT48Aa24vnyCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=chinese%20captured%20lhasa%20650&f=false. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
^ ^a ^b W. D. Shakabpa, Derek F. Maher (2010). One hundred thousand moons, Volume 1 (illustrated ed.). BRILL. p. 123. ISBN 90-04-17788-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=lGyrymfDdI0C&pg=PA123&dq=Chinese+troops+Red+Palace,+correct&hl=en&ei=B90VTqXfMoihsQLl4elT&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Chinese%20troops%20Red%20Palace%2C%20correct&f=false. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
^ Tieh-tseng Li, Tiezheng Li (1956). The historical status of Tibet. King's Crown Press, Columbia University. p. 6. http://books.google.com/books?ei=usMUTu6wEuXnsQKmn-DUDw&ct=result&id=hdVwAAAAMAAJ&dq=one+Tibetan+record+reports+%28and+this+may+be+a+later+interpolation%29+that+the+Chinese+captured+the+Tibetan+capital%2C+Lhasa%2C+after+the+death+of+Sron-tsan+Gampo.11+It+is+significant+that+neither+the+Chinese+historical+annals+nor+the+highly&q=lhasa+gampo++captured. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
^ Bloudeau, Anne-Mari & Gyatso, Yonten. 'Lhasa, Legend and History' in Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century: The Capital of the Dalai Lamas, 2003, pp. 24-25.
^ Bloudeau, Anne-Mari & Gyatso, Yonten. "Lhasa, Legend and History." In: Lhasa in the Seventeenth Century: The Capital of the Dalai Lamas. Françoise Pommaret-Imaeda, Françoise Pommaret 2003, p. 38. Brill, Netherlands. ISBN 978-90-04-12866-8.
^ ^a ^b Dorje (1999), p. 69.
^ Emily T. Yeh,'Living Together in Lhasa: Ethnic Relations, Coercive Amity, and Subaltern Cosmopolitanism,' in Shail Mayaram (ed.) The other global city, Taylor & Francis US. 2009, pp.54-85, pp.58-7.
^ John Bray, 'Trader, Middleman or Spy? The Dilemmas of a Kashmiri Muslim in Early Nineteenth-Century Tibet,' in Anna Akasoy, Charles Burnett, Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim (eds.)Islam and Tibet: Interactions Along the Musk Routes, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2011, pp.313-338, p.315.
^ Emily T. Yeh,'Living Together in Lhasa: Ethnic Relations, Coercive Amity, and Subaltern Cosmopolitanism,' pp.59-60.
^ Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet, Penguin 1997 p.140, cited in Peter Bishop, The myth of Shangri-La: Tibet, travel writing, and the western creation of sacred landscape, University of California Press, 1989 p.192.
^ Robert Barnett, Lhasa: Streets with Memories, Columbia University Press, 2010 p.65
^ Emily T. Yeh,'Living Together in Lhasa: Ethnic Relations, Coercive Amity, and Subaltern Cosmopolitanism,' p.58.
^ Robert Barnett, Lhasa: Streets with Memories, p.104.
^ Robert Barnett, Lhasa: Streets with Memories, Columbia University Press, 2010 p.67.
^ Emily T. Yeh,'Living Together in Lhasa: Ethnic Relations, Coercive Amity, and Subaltern Cosmopolitanism,' p.60; The monument however does not commemorate the Tibetan epic hero, but the Chinese figure. See Lara Maconi, ‘Gesar de Pékin? Le sort du Roi Gesar de Gling, héros épique tibétain, en Chinese (post-) maoïste,’ in Judith Labarthe, Formes modernes de la poésie épique: nouvelles approches, Peter Lang, 2004 pp.371-419, p.373 n.7. Relying on H. Richardson, and R. A. Stein, Maconi says that this was erected by the Chinese general Fú kāng'ān (福康安).
^ Tung (1980), p.21 and caption to plate 17, p. 42.
^ ^a ^b Emily T. Yeh,'Living Together in Lhasa: Ethnic Relations, Coercive Amity, and Subaltern Cosmopolitanism,' p.70.
^ National Geographic Atlas of China (2007), p. 88. National Geographic, Washington, D.C. ISBN 978-1-4262-0136-3.
^ National Geographic Atlas of China. (2008), p. 88. National Geographic, Washington D.C. ISBN 978-1-4262-0136-3.
^ Dorje (1999), p. 68.
^ ^a ^b Barnett, Robert (2006). Lhasa: streets with memories. Columbia University Press. p. 42. ISBN 0-231-13680-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=MOCMLwQzD6kC&pg=PA42.
^ ^a ^b "中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集（1971－2000年）" (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. http://cdc.cma.gov.cn/shuju/index3.jsp?tpcat=SURF&dsid=SURF_CLI_CHN_MUL_MMON_19712000_CES&pageid=3. Retrieved 2010-05-04.
^ Extreme Temperatures Around the world − world highest lowest temperatures. Accessed 2010-10-20
^ Xinhua, "Tibet tourism warms as spring comes", 2009-02-13.
^ Miles, Paul (8 April 2005). "Tourism drive 'is destroying Tibet'". London: Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/732642/Tourism-drive-is-destroying-Tibet.html. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
^ http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/china/lhasa-r1973718/lhasa-hotel-p1037396/
^ Lonely Planet
^ "Lhasa beer from Tibet makes US debut". Tibet Sun. August 12, 2009. http://www.tibetsun.com/features/2009/08/12/lhasa-beer-from-tibet-makes-us-debut/. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
^ Gluckman, Ron (1994). Brewing at the Top of the World. Asia, Inc.. http://www.gluckman.com/Lhasa%27Brew.html.
^ "Carlsberg China". Carlsberg Group. http://www.carlsberggroup.com/Company/Markets/Pages/China.aspx. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
^ "The Beer". Lhasa Beer USA. http://www.lhasabeerusa.com/beer-d/the-brewery. Retrieved September 27, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e LHASA. Online Encyclopedia. Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition
^ Shail Mayaram (2009). The other global city. Taylor & Francis US. p. 60. ISBN 0-415-99194-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=QVSVux0wIW0C&pg=PA60&dq=lubu+residents+sent+children++school+lhasa&hl=en&ei=1OvMTIKnBsaAlAeJ6YTlCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=lubu%20residents%20sent%20children%20%20school%20lhasa&f=false. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
^ Dowman (1988), p. 39.
^ Richardson (1984), p. 7.
^ People's Government of Lhasa Official Website - "Administrative divisions"
^ Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China (《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)
^ "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa". unesco. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/707. Retrieved 2008-02-10. In the surrounding prefecture of Lhasa are Sera Monastery and its many hermitages, many of which overlook Lhasa from the northern hill valleys and Drepung Monastery, amongst many others of historical importance.
^ Bradley Mayhew and Michael Kohn. Tibet. 6th Edition (2005), pp. 36-37. Lonely Planet. ISBN 1-74059-523-8
^ Keith Dowman. The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, (1988) pp. 8-13. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd., London and New York. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0.
^ Laird, Thomas. (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, pp. 345-351.Grove Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8021-1827-1.
^ Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization (1962). Translated into English with minor revisions by the author. 1st English edition by Faber & Faber, London (1972). Reprint: Stanford University Press (1972), p. 84
^ Laird, Thomas. (2006). The Story of Tibet: Conversations with the Dalai Lama, pp. 175. Grove Press, New York. ISBN 978-0-8021-1827-1.
^ Karmay, Samten C. (2005). "The Great Fifth", p. 1. Downloaded as a pdf file on 16 December 2007 from: [1]
^ Richardson (1985), p. 2.
^ Coulmas, Florian (1999). "Tibetan writing". Blackwell Reference Online. http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?id=g9780631214816_chunk_g978063121481622_ss1-17. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
^ Snellgrove and Richardson (1995), p. 91.
^ Richardson (1984), p. 30.
^ Beckwith (1987), p. 148.
^ Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, p. 228. Translated by J. E. Stapleton Driver. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. ISBN 0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN 0-8047-0901-7 (paper).
^ Dowman, Keith. (1988). The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, p. 49. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0.
^ "Norbulingka Palace". Tibet Tours. http://www.tibettours.com/norbulingka.html. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
^ "Norbulingka". Cultural China. http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/Scenery95bye384.html. Retrieved 2010=05-23.
^ Tibet (1986), p.71
^ Dowman, Keith (1998). The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, pp. 40-41. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and New York. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0.
^ Philip, Bruno (19 March 2008). "Trashing the Beijing road". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10875823. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
^ ^a ^b Dowman, Keith. 1988. The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, p. 59. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0 (ppk).
^ ^a ^b "The Tibet Museum". China Tibet Information Center. http://zt.tibet.cn/english/zt/culture/20040200451384554.htm. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
^ "Tibet Museum". China Museums. http://www.chinamuseums.com/tibet.htm. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
^ "Monument to Tibet Peaceful Liberation Unveiled". China Tibet Tourism Bureau. http://www.xzta.gov.cn/yww/Introduction/History/4949.shtml. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
^ Cody, Edward (2006-07-04). "Train 27, Now Arriving Tibet, in a 'Great Leap West'". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070301219.html. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
^ "New highway linking Lhasa to Gonggar Airport to be built". http://english.chinatibetnews.com/news/Society/2009-08/12/content_287181.htm.
^ Lhasa city guide

References [link]

Das, Sarat Chandra. 1902. Lhasa and Central Tibet. Reprint: Mehra Offset Press, Delhi. 1988. ISBN 81-86230-17-3
Dorje, Gyurme. 1999. Footprint Tibet Handbook. 2nd Edition. Bath, England. ISBN 1-900949-33-4. Also published in Chicago, U.S.A. ISBN 0-8442-2190-2.
Dowman, Keith. 1988. The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide, p. 59. Routledge & Kegan Paul. London. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0 (ppk).
Jianqiang, Liu (2006). chinadialogue - Preserving Lhasa's history (part one).
Miles, Paul. (April 9, 2005). "Tourism drive 'is destroying Tibet' Unesco fears for Lhasa's World Heritage sites as the Chinese try to pull in 10 million visitors a year by 2020". Daily Telegraph (London), p. 4.
Pelliot, Paul. (1961) Histoire ancienne du Tibet. Libraire d'Amérique et d'orient. Paris.
Richardson, Hugh E (1984). Tibet and its History. Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Shambhala Publications, Boston. ISBN 0-87773-376-7.
Richardson, Hugh E (1997). Lhasa. In Encyclopedia Americana international edition, (Vol. 17, pp. 281–282). Danbury, CT: Grolier Inc.
Stein, R. A. (1972). Tibetan Civilization, p. 38. Reprint 1972. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0806-1 (cloth); ISBN 0-8047-0901-7 (paper).
Tung, Rosemary Jones. 1980. A Portrait of Lost Tibet. Thomas and Hudson, London. ISBN 0-500-54068-3.
Vitali, Roberto. 1990. Early Temples of Central Tibet. Serindia Publications. London. ISBN 0-906026-25-3.
(2006). Lhasa - Lhasa Intro
von Schroeder, Ulrich. (1981). Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. (608 pages, 1244 illustrations). Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications Ltd. ISBN 962-7049-01-8
von Schroeder, Ulrich. (2001). Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet. Vol. One: India & Nepal; Vol. Two: Tibet & China. (Volume One: 655 pages with 766 illustrations; Volume Two: 675 pages with 987 illustrations). Hong Kong: Visual Dharma Publications, Ltd.). ISBN 962-7049-07-7
von Schroeder, Ulrich. 2008. 108 Buddhist Statues in Tibet. (212 p., 112 colour illustrations) (DVD with 527 digital photographs). Chicago: Serindia Publications. ISBN 962-7049-08-5

External links [link]

	Tibet portal
	People's Republic of China portal

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Maps and aerial photos [link]

Coordinates: 29°39′N 91°06′E / 29.65°N 91.1°E / 29.65; 91.1

v t e Tibet Autonomous Region

Lhasa (Capital)

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Admin. divisions	Tibet in China Lhasa: Chengguan District Lhünzhub County Damxung County Nyêmo County Qüxü County Doilungdêqên County Dagzê County Maizhokunggar County Nagqu: Nagchu County Lhari County Biru County Nyainrong County Amdo County Xainza County Sog County Baingoin County Baqên County Nyima County Shuanghu Special District Qamdo: Qamdo County Jomda County Gonjo County Riwoqê County Dêngqên County Zhag'yab County Baxoi County Zogang County Markam County Lhorong County Banbar County Nyingchi: Nyingchi County Gongbo'gyamda County Mainling County Mêdog County Bomê County Zayü County Nang County Shannan: Nêdong County Zhanang County Gonggar County Sangri County Qonggyai County Qusum County Comai County Lhozhag County Gyaca County Lhünzê County Cuona County Nagarzê County Shigatse: Shigatse City Namling County Gyantse County Tingri County Sa'gya County Lhatse County Ngamring County Xaitongmoin County Bainang County Rinbung County Kangmar County Dinggyê County Zhongba County Yadong County Gyirong County Nyalam County Saga County Gamba County Ngari: Gar County Burang County Zanda County Rutog County Gê'gyai County Gêrzê County Coqên County

■ = Prefecture-level city ■ = Prefecture * Not an official division ** Part of the South Tibet area, which is administered by India and claimed by the PRC.

Metropolitan cities of the People's Republic of China

Municipalities and National central cities	Beijing · Chongqing · Guangzhou · Shanghai · Tianjin

Regional central cities	Chengdu · Nanjing · Shenyang · Shenzhen · Wuhan · Xi'an

Special administrative regions	Hong Kong · Macau

Sub-provincial cities (not included above)	Changchun · Hangzhou · Harbin · Jinan

Separate state-planning cities (not included above)	Dalian · Ningbo · Qingdao · Xiamen

Provincial capitals (not included above)	Changsha · Fuzhou · Guiyang · Haikou · Hefei · Kunming · Lanzhou · Nanchang · Shijiazhuang · Taiyuan · Xining · Zhengzhou

Autonomous regional capitals	Hohhot · Lhasa · Nanning · Ürümqi · Yinchuan

Comparatively large cities (not included above)	Anshan · Baotou · Benxi · Datong · Fushun · Handan · Huainan · Jilin · Luoyang · Qiqihar · Suzhou · Tangshan · Wuxi · Xuzhou · Zibo

Special economic zone cities (not included above)	Kashgar [ Kashi ] · Shantou · Zhuhai · (Hainan Cities: Danzhou · Dongfang · Qionghai · Sanya · Wanning · Wenchang · Wuzhishan)

Coastal development cities (not included above)	Beihai · Lianyungang · Nantong · Qinhuangdao · Wenzhou · Yantai · Zhanjiang

XPCC / Bingtuan cities	Aral [ Ala'er ] · Beitun · Shihezi · Tumxuk [ Tumushuke ] · Wujiaqu

State-level new areas	Pudong New Area (Shanghai) · Binhai New Area (Tianjin) · Liangjiang New Area (Chongqing) · Zhoushan Archipelago New Area (Zhoushan)

v t e Provincial capitals of the People's Republic of China

Changchun, Jilin Changsha, Hunan Chengdu, Sichuan Fuzhou, Fujian Guangzhou, Guangdong Guiyang, Guizhou Haikou, Hainan Hangzhou, Zhejiang Harbin, Heilongjiang Hefei, Anhui Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Jinan, Shandong Kunming, Yunnan Lanzhou, Gansu Lhasa, Tibet Nanchang, Jiangxi Nanjing, Jiangsu Nanning, Guangxi Shenyang, Liaoning Shijiazhuang, Hebei Taiyuan, Shanxi Ürümqi, Xinjiang Wuhan, Hubei Xi'an, Shaanxi Xining, Qinghai Yinchuan, Ningxia Zhengzhou, Henan

v t e Prefecture of Lhasa

County-level divisions	Lhünzhub · Damxung · Nyêmo · Qüxü · Doilungdêqên · Dagzê · Maizhokunggar · Chengguan District

Towns and villages	Caina · Chundui (Codoi) · Damxung · Damquka · Donggar · Gongtang · Gyaidar · Horru · Kunggar · Leten · Lhünzhub · Lungring · Maizhokunggar · Namco · Nyêmo · Nyêtang · Nyingzhung · Qiannang · Wumatang · Yangbajain · Zaxoi · Zhujia

Monasteries and palaces	Architecture of Lhasa · Lingkhor · Potala Palace · Norbulingka · Jokhang Temple · Tsomon Ling · Ganden Monastery · · Kundeling Monastery · Nechung · Nyethang Drolma Lhakhang Temple · Yangpachen Monastery · · Drepung Monastery · Ramoche Temple · Reting Monastery · Sanga Monastery · Yerpa Sera Monastery: · Chupzang Nunnery · Drakri Hermitage · Garu Nunnery · Jokpo Hermitage · Keutsang Hermitage · Keutsang East Hermitage · Keutsang West Hermitage · Khardo Hermitage · Negodong Nunnery · Nenang Nunnery · Pabongkha Hermitage · Panglung Hermitage · Purbuchok Hermitage · Rakhadrak Hermitage · Sera Chöding Hermitage · Sera Gönpasar Hermitage · Sera Utsé Hermitage · Takten Hermitage · Trashi Chöling Hermitage

Other landmarks	Banak Shöl Hotel · Barkhor · Chokpori · Drapchi Prison · Lhasa Brewery · Lhasa Hotel · Lhasa Zhol Pillar · Tibet Museum · Tibet University · Tromzikhang · Nyang bran · Hutoushan Reservoir

Transport	Lhasa Airport · Damxung Railway Station · Lhasa Railway Station · Lhasa West Railway Station · Wumatang railway station · Yangbajain Railway Station · G109 · G318 · North Linkor Road

Government	Doje Cezhug · Jigme Namgyal

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Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen in 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Leonard Norman Cohen
Born	(1934-09-21) 21 September 1934 (age 77) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Folk, folk rock, rock, pop rock, spoken word, synthpop
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter, poet, novelist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer
Years active	1956-present
Labels	Columbia
Associated acts	Sharon Robinson, Jennifer Warnes, Phil Spector, John Lissauer

Leonard Norman Cohen, CC GOQ (born 21 September 1934) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality, and interpersonal relationships.^[1] Cohen has been inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour.

While giving the speech at Cohen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2008, Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters."^[2]

Early life [link]

Cohen was born on 21 September 1934 in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, into a middle-class Jewish family. He attended Roslyn Elementary School. His mother, Marsha Klinitsky,^[3] of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry, emigrated from Lithuania while his great-grandfather emigrated from Poland.^[4]^[5] He grew up in Westmount on the Island of Montreal. His grandfather was Lyon Cohen, founding president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. His father, Nathan Cohen, who owned a substantial Montreal clothing store, died when Cohen was nine years old. On the topic of being a Kohen, Cohen has said that, "I had a very Messianic childhood." He told Richard Goldstein in 1967. "I was told I was a descendant of Aaron, the high priest."^[6] Cohen attended Westmount High School, beginning in 1948 where he was involved with the Student Council and studied music and poetry.^[7] He became especially interested in the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca.^[7] As a teenager, he learned to play the guitar, and formed a country-folk group called the Buckskin Boys. Although he initially played a regular acoustic guitar as a teenager, he soon switched to playing a classical guitar after meeting a young Spanish flamenco guitar player who taught him "a few chords and some flamenco."^[7]

Poetry and novels [link]

In 1951, Cohen enrolled at McGill University, where he became president of the McGill Debating Union and won the Chester MacNaughton Prize for Creative Writing for a series of four poems titled "Thoughts of a Landsman." He graduated in 1955 with a B.A. degree.^[7] His literary influences during this time included William Butler Yeats, Irving Layton, Walt Whitman, Federico Garcia Lorca and Henry Miller.^[8] His first published book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies (1956), was published by Louis Dudek (who taught poetry at McGill and was a mentor to Cohen) as the first book in the McGill Poetry Series while Cohen was still an undergraduate student. The book contained "poems written largely when Cohen was between the ages of fifteen and twenty," and Cohen dedicated the book to his late father.^[7] The famous and influential Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye wrote a review of the book in which he gave Cohen "restrained praise."^[7]

After completing an undergraduate degree, Cohen spent a term in McGill's law school and then a year (1956-7) at the School of General Studies at Columbia University. Cohen described his graduate school experience as "passion without flesh, love without climax".^[9] Consequently, Cohen left New York and returned to Montreal in 1957, working various odd jobs and focusing on the writing of fiction and poetry, including the poems for his next book, The Spice-Box of Earth (1961), which was the first book that Cohen published through the Canadian publishing company McClelland & Stewart. Fortunately, his father's will provided him with a modest trust income, sufficient to allow him to pursue his literary ambitions for the time, and The Spice-Box of Earth was successful in helping to expand the audience for Cohen's poetry, helping him reach out to the poetry scene in Canada, outside the confines of McGill University. The book also helped Cohen gain critical recognition as an important new voice in Canadian poetry. One of Cohen's biographers, Ira Nadel, stated that "reaction to the finished book was enthusiastic and admiring. . .[noting that] the critic Robert Weaver found it powerful and declared that Cohen was 'probably the best young poet in English Canada right now.'"^[7]

Cohen continued to write poetry and fiction throughout much of the 1960s and preferred to live in quasi-reclusive circumstances after he bought a house on Hydra, a Greek island in the Saronic Gulf. While living and writing on Hydra, Cohen published the poetry collection Flowers for Hitler (1964), and the novels The Favourite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966). His novel The Favourite Game was an autobiographical bildungsroman about a young man who discovers his identity through writing. Beautiful Losers received a good deal of attention from the Canadian press and stirred up controversy because of a number of sexually graphic passages.^[7] In 1966 Cohen also published Parasites of Heaven, a book of poems. Both Beautiful Losers and Parasites of Heaven received mixed reviews and sold few copies.^[7]

Subsequently, Cohen published less, with major gaps, concentrating more on recording songs. In 1978, he published his first book of poetry in many years, Death of a Lady's Man (not to be confused with the album he released the previous year with the similar title, Death of a Ladies' Man). It wasn't until 1984 that Cohen published his next book of poems, Book of Mercy, which won him the Canadian Author's Association Literary Award for Poetry. The book contains 50 prose-poems, influenced by the Bible, Torah, and Zen-Buddhist writings. Cohen himself referred to the pieces as "prayers".^{[citation needed]}

In 1993, Cohen published Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs, and in 2006, after 10 years of delays, additions and rewritings, Book of Longing. During the late 1990s and 2000s, many of his poems were first published on his fan website The Leonard Cohen Files ^[10]^[11]

Cohen's writing process, as he told an interviewer in 1998, is "...like a bear stumbling into a beehive or a honey cache: I'm stumbling right into it and getting stuck, and it's delicious and it's horrible and I'm in it and it's not very graceful and it's very awkward and it's very painful and yet there's something inevitable about it."^[12]

In 2011, Cohen was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for literature.

Recording career [link]

1960s and 1970s [link]

In 1967, disappointed with his lack of financial success as a writer, Cohen moved to the United States to pursue a career as a folk music singer-songwriter. During the 1960s, he was a fringe figure in Andy Warhol's "Factory" crowd. Warhol speculated that Cohen had spent time listening to Nico in clubs and that this had influenced his musical style.^[13] His song "Suzanne" became a hit for Judy Collins and was for many years his most covered song. After performing at a few folk festivals, he came to the attention of Columbia Records representative John H. Hammond. At this time, Cohen recorded at least one demo acetate (possibly for some subsidiary of Polygram^[14]), supported by his close companion at the time, Joni Mitchell.

Cohen's first album was Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967). Although Hammond was originally supposed to produce the record, he became sick and was replaced by the producer John Simon.^[7] Unfortunately, Simon and Cohen clashed over instrumentation and mixing. Cohen wanted the album to have a spare sound, but Simon felt that the songs could benefit from arrangements that included strings and horns. According to biographer Ira Nadel, although Cohen was able to make changes to the mix, some of Simon's additions "couldn't be removed from the four-track master tape."^[7] Nevertheless, the album became a cult favorite in the US, as well as in the UK, where it spent over a year on the album charts.^[15] Several of the songs on that first album were covered by other popular folk artists, including James Taylor, and Judy Collins. Cohen followed up that first album with Songs from a Room (1969) (featuring the often-recorded "Bird on the Wire") and Songs of Love and Hate (1970). Both of these albums were produced in Nashville by famed producer Bob Johnston, who helped Cohen achieve the sparer sound that he'd been after on his first album; Johnston also joined Cohen on two subsequent live tours, playing organ and piano.^[16]

In 1970, Cohen toured for the first time, with dates in the United States, Canada and Europe, and appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival. He toured again in Europe and Israel in 1972 with some of the same band-mates, including Charlie Daniels and his producer Bob Johnston. Both tours were represented on the Live Songs LP, while Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 was released in 2009. The 1972 tour was also filmed by Tony Palmer; the film Bird on a Wire (with which Cohen was unhappy) was shown re-cut under Cohen's guidance in 1974, but released only in 2010, reconstructed according to Palmer's original version.

In 1971, Cohen's music was used in the soundtrack to Robert Altman's film McCabe & Mrs. Miller. When Cohen was on a stay in Nashville, Altman phoned to ask permission to use some tracks off Songs of Leonard Cohen. Coincidentally, earlier that same day, Cohen had seen Altman's then-current film Brewster McCloud in a local theater. He hadn't paid attention to the credits so when Altman asked permission to use Cohen's songs in his new film, Cohen had to ask him who he was. Altman mentioned his hit film MASH, but Cohen had never heard of it. When Altman mentioned his lesser-known Brewster McCloud, Cohen replied, "Listen, I just came out of the theater. I saw it twice. You can have anything of mine you want!"^[7]

Beginning around 1974, Cohen's collaboration with pianist and arranger John Lissauer created a live sound praised by the critics. They toured together in 1974 in Europe, and in US and Canada in late 1974 and early 1975, in support of Cohen's record New Skin for the Old Ceremony. In late 1975 Cohen performed a short series of shows in the US and Canada with a new band, in support of his Best Of release. However, none of the recordings from the three live tours with John Lissauer were ever officially released.

In 1976 Cohen, now without Lissauer, embarked on a new major European tour, with a new band and major changes in his sound and arrangements, again, in support of his The Best of Leonard Cohen release (in Europe retitled as Greatest Hits). One of the band members was Laura Branigan, and the set-list included unreleased songs "Everybody's Child" (a.k.a. "Blessed Is the Memory") and "Storeroom" (both released as bonus tracks to 2007 reissue of Songs of Leonard Cohen), and the new song "Do I Have to Dance All Night?" (which was released as a single with the song "The Butcher" in a single available in Europe only).^[17] From April to July, Cohen gave 55 shows, including his first appearance at the famous Montreux Jazz Festival.

After the European tour of 1976, Cohen again attempted a new change in his style and arrangements - his new 1977 record, Death of a Ladies' Man (one year later, in 1978, Cohen also released a volume of poetry with the coyly revised title, Death of a Lady's Man), was co-written and produced by Phil Spector, known as the inventor of the "wall of sound" technique, which backs up pop music with many layers of instrumentation, an approach very different from Cohen's usually minimalist instrumentation. The recording of the album was fraught with difficulty—Spector reportedly mixed the album in secret studio sessions, and Cohen said Spector once threatened him with a crossbow. Cohen thought the end result "grotesque,"^[18] but also "semi-virtuous."^[19] The record was released by Spector's label, Warner, and was returned to Columbia's Cohen catalogue in the late 1980s. Cohen did not take part in the album's promotion, but in his tours of 1979, 1980 and 1985, he performed two songs from the album, "Memories" and "Iodine". However, Cohen chose not to include any of the album's songs on his later compilations More Best of Leonard Cohen and The Essential Leonard Cohen.

In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz and Oriental and Mediterranean influences. Beginning with this record, praised in 2001 by Cohen as his favourite,^{[citation needed]} Cohen began to co-produce his albums. Produced by Cohen and Henry Lewy (Joni Mitchell's sound engineer), Recent Songs included performances by Passenger, an Austin-based jazz-fusion band that met Cohen through Mitchell. The band helped Cohen create a new sound by featuring instruments like the oud, the Gypsy violin and the mandolin. The album was supported by Cohen's major tour with the new band, and Jennifer Warnes and Sharon Robinson on the backing vocals, in Europe in late 1979, and again in Australia, Israel and Europe in 1980. The tour was filmed by Harry Rasky as The Song of Leonard Cohen, and the film was broadcast on television in 1980.^{[citation needed]} Cohen also gave a couple of major TV appearances in 1979, including German's ZDF television.^{[citation needed]} In 2000 Columbia released an album of live recordings of songs from the 1979 tour, entitled Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979; the album (with a different track list) was originally rejected by the label in 1980.

During 1970s, Cohen toured twice with Jennifer Warnes as a back-up singer (in 1972 and 1979). Warnes would become a fixture on Cohen's future albums, receiving full co-vocals credit on Cohen's 1985 album Various Positions (although the record was released under Cohen's name, the inside credits say "Vocals by Leonard Cohen and Jennifer Warnes"). In 1987, she recorded an album of Cohen songs, Famous Blue Raincoat.^[20]

1980s [link]

Leonard Cohen in 1988.

In early 1980s, Cohen co-wrote the rock musical film Night Magic with Lewis Furey, starring Carole Laure and Nick Mancuso (voice-over by Furey); the LP was released in 1985. At that time, Cohen also worked on an unfinished album of his poetry recitations with producer Henry Lewy, before turning back to John Lissauer. Lissauer produced Cohen's next record Various Positions, which was released in late 1984. The LP included "Dance Me to the End of Love", which was promoted by Cohen's first video clip, directed by French photographer Dominique Issermann, and the frequently covered "Hallelujah". Columbia declined to release the album in the United States. Cohen supported the release of the album with his biggest tour to date, in Europe and Australia, and with his first tour in Canada and United States since 1975. Anjani Thomas, who would become Cohen's partner, and a regular member of Cohen's recording team, joined his touring band. The band performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Roskilde Festival. They also gave a series of highly emotional and politically controversial concerts in Poland, which was under martial law and performed the song "The Partisan," regarded as the hymn of the Polish Solidarity movement.^[21] During the 80s, almost all Cohen's songs were performed in Polish language by Maciej Zembaty.^[22]

In 1986, Cohen appeared in the episode "French Twist" of the TV series Miami Vice. In 1987, Jennifer Warnes's tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat helped restore Cohen's career in the US. The following year he released I'm Your Man, which marked a drastic change in his music. Synthesizers ruled the album and Cohen's lyrics included more social commentary and dark humor. The album, self-produced by Cohen, remains one of Cohen's most acclaimed albums, and was promoted by iconic black and white video shot by Dominique Issermann at the beach of Normandy. Cohen supported the record with series of television interviews, and an extensive tour of Europe, Canada and US. Many shows were broadcast on European and US television and radio stations, while Cohen performed for the first time in his career on PBS's Austin City Limits show; he also performed at the Roskilde Festival again, among other dates.^[23] The tour gave the basic structure to typical Cohen's concert which he used in his tours in 1993, 2008–09 and 2010. The selection of performances from the late 1980s was released in 1994 on Cohen Live. None of the concerts was released in its entirety, although some were bootlegged. Parts of one of three Royal Albert Hall concerts were used in BBC documentary The Songs from the Life of Leonard Cohen, which was released on laser disc and video tape.

1990s [link]

The use of the album track "Everybody Knows" (co-written by Sharon Robinson) in the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume helped expose Cohen's music to a younger audience. The song also featured prominently in fellow Canadian Atom Egoyan's 1994 film, Exotica. In 1992, Cohen released The Future, which urges (often in terms of biblical prophecy) perseverance, reformation, and hope in the face of grim prospects. Three tracks from the album - "Waiting for the Miracle", "The Future" and "Anthem" - were featured in the movie Natural Born Killers, which helped Cohen reach a younger audience in the United States.

As with I'm Your Man, the lyrics on the The Future were dark, and made references to political and social unrest. The title track is reportedly a response to the L.A. unrest of 1992. Cohen promoted the album with two music videos, for "Closing Time" and "The Future", and supported the release with the major tour through Europe, United States and Canada, with the same band as in his 1988 tour, including a second appearance at the PBS's Austin City Limits. Some of the Scandinavian shows were broadcast live on the radio. The selection of performances, mostly recorded on the Canadian leg of the tour, was released on 1994 Cohen Live album, but none of the new songs from the album itself were included in the live album.

In 1993 Cohen also published his book of selected poems and songs, Stranger Music, on which he had worked since 1989. It includes a number of new poems from the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In 1997, Cohen oversaw the selection and release of More Best of Leonard Cohen album, which included a previously unreleased track, "Never Any Good", and an experimental piece "The Great Event". The first was left over from Cohen's unfinished mid-1990s album, which was announced to include songs like "In My Secret Life" (already recited as song-in-progress in 1988) and "A Thousand Kisses Deep",^[24] both later re-worked with Sharon Robinson for 2001 album Ten New Songs.

In 1994, Cohen retreated to the Mt. Baldy Zen Center near Los Angeles, beginning what became five years of seclusion at the center.^[20] In 1996, Cohen was ordained as a Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and took the Dharma name Jikan, meaning "silence". He served as personal assistant to Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi. Japanese songwriter and poet Masato Tomobe stated he admires Cohen and this made him better recognized in Japan around this time.

Although around 2000 there was a public impression that Cohen would not resume recording or publishing, he returned to Los Angeles in May 1999. He began to contribute regularly to The Leonard Cohen Files fan website, emailing new poems and drawings from Book of Longing and early versions of new songs, like "A Thousand Kisses Deep" in September 1998^[25] and Anjani Thomas's story sent on 6 May 1999, the day they were recording "Villanelle for our Time"^[26] (released on 2004 Dear Heather album). The section of The Leonard Cohen Files with Cohen's online writings has been titled "The Blackening Pages".^[27]

2000s [link]

[edit] Post-monastery records: Ten New Songs, Dear Heather and Anjani's Blue Alert

After two years of production, Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, featuring a heavy influence from producer and co-composer Sharon Robinson. The album, recorded at Cohen's and Robinson's home studios, includes the song "Alexandra Leaving", a transformation of the poem "The God Abandons Antony", by the Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy. The album was a major hit for Cohen in Canada and Europe, and he supported it with the hit single "In My Secret Life" and accompanying video shot by Floria Sigismondi.

In October 2004, Cohen released Dear Heather, largely a musical collaboration with jazz chanteuse (and current romantic partner) Anjani Thomas, although Sharon Robinson returned to collaborate on three tracks (including a duet). As light as the previous album was dark, Dear Heather reflects Cohen's own change of mood - he has said in a number of interviews that his depression has lifted in recent years, which he attributed to Zen Buddhism. In an interview following his induction into the Canadian Songwriters' Hall of Fame, Cohen explained that the album was intended to be a kind of notebook or scrapbook of themes, and that a more formal record had been planned for release shortly afterwards, but that this was put on ice by his legal battles with his ex-manager. He decided not to promote the album at all, but in 2005 he released a home video accompanying the song "Because Of", shot by his daughter Lorca Cohen, while there were no official album singles.

Blue Alert, an album of songs co-written by Anjani and Cohen, was released on 23 May 2006 to positive reviews. Sung by Anjani, who according to one reviewer "...sounds like Cohen reincarnated as woman...though Cohen doesn't sing a note on the album, his voice permeates it like smoke."^[28] The album includes a recent musical setting of Cohen's "As the mist leaves no scar", a poem originally published in The Spice-Box of Earth in 1961 and adapted by Phil Spector as "True Love Leaves No Traces" on Death of a Ladies' Man album. Blue Alert also included Anjani's own version of "Nightingale", performed by her and Cohen on his Dear Heather, as well the country song "Never Got to Love You", apparently made after an early demo version of Cohen's own 1992 song "Closing Time". During the 2010 tour, Cohen was closing his live shows with the performance of "Closing Time" which included the recitation of verses from "Never Got to Love You". The title song, "Blue Alert", and "Half the Perfect World" were covered by Madeleine Peyroux on her 2006 album Half the Perfect World, while the third covered song, "Crazy To Love You", was included in the albums Japanese edition.

Before embarking on his 2008-2010 world tour, and without finishing the new album which has been in work since 2006 (new song, "The Street", was recited by Cohen in 2006 on KCRW radio, and he also played two new songs from demo tape, "Book of Longing" and "Puppets"^[29]), Cohen contributed few tracks to other artists' albums - new version of his own "Tower of Song" was performed by him, Anjani Thomas and U2 in 2006 tribute film Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man (the video and track were included on the film's soundtrack and released as B-side of U2's single "Window in the Skies", reaching No 1 in Canadian Singles Chart), in 2007 he recited "The Sound of Silence" on album Tribute to Paul Simon: Take Me to the Mardi Gras and "The Jungle Line" by Joni Mitchell, accompanied by Herbie Hancock on piano, on Hancock's Grammy-winning album River: The Joni Letters, while in 2008 he recited the poem "Since You've Asked" on album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins.

2005 financial issues [link]

On 8 October 2005, Cohen alleged that his longtime former manager, Kelley Lynch, misappropriated over US $5 million from Cohen's retirement fund leaving only $150,000.^[30]^[31] Cohen was sued in turn by other former business associates.^[30] These events placed him in the public spotlight, including a cover feature on him with the headline "Devastated!" in Canada's Maclean's magazine.^[31] In March 2006, Cohen won a civil suit and was awarded US $9 million by a Los Angeles County superior court. Lynch, however, ignored the suit and did not respond to a subpoena issued for her financial records.^[32] As a result it has been widely reported that Cohen may never be able to collect the awarded amount.^[33] In 2007, US. District Judge Lewis T. Babcock dismissed a claim by Cohen for more than US $4.5 million against Colorado investment firm Agile Group, and in 2008 he dismissed a defamation suit that Agile Group filed against Cohen.^[34] Cohen has been under new management since April 2005.

[edit] Book of Longing

Cohen's book of poetry and drawings, Book of Longing, was published in May 2006; in March a Toronto-based retailer offered signed copies to the first 1500 orders placed online. All 1500 sold within hours. The book quickly topped bestseller lists in Canada. Around the time of the release, RJ Smith wrote an essay about Cohen in Poetry magazine, in which he noted, "The pieces in Book of Longing are casual, but never so casual that the old horndog doesn’t have muscle or bite."^[35] On 13 May 2006, Cohen made his first public appearance in thirteen years, at an in-store event at a bookstore in Toronto. Approximately 3000 people turned up for the event, causing the streets surrounding the bookstore to be closed. He sang two of his earliest and best-known songs: "So Long, Marianne" and "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye", accompanied by the Barenaked Ladies and Ron Sexsmith. Also appearing with him was Anjani, the two promoting her new CD along with his book.^[36]

In 2006, Philip Glass composed music to Cohen's 2006 book of poetry Book of Longing. Following the series of live performances which included Glass on keyboards, Cohen's recorded spoken text, four voices (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass-baritone), and other instruments, and as well the screenings of Cohen's artworks and drawings, Glass' label Orange Mountain Music released a double CD with the recording of the work, entitled Book of Longing. A Song Cycle based on the Poetry and Artwork of Leonard Cohen.^[37]

2008-2010 World Tour [link]

2008 tour [link]

2008 concert tour

13 January 2008, Cohen quietly announced a long-anticipated concert tour.^[38] The tour, Cohen's first in 15 years, began 11 May in Fredericton, New Brunswick to wide critical acclaim, and was extended until Winter of 2010.^[39] The schedule of the first leg in Summer of 2008 encompassed Canada and Europe, including performances at The Big Chill,^[40] the Montreal Jazz Festival, and on the Pyramid Stage at the 2008 Glastonbury Festival on 29 June 2008.^[41] His performance at Glastonbury was hailed by many as the highlight of the festival,^[42] and his performance of "Hallelujah" as the sun went down received a rapturous reception and a lengthy ovation from a packed Pyramid Stage field.^[43] He also played two shows in London's O2 Arena, and in Dublin he gave a "milestone concert", while in Dublin he was the first performer to play an open air concert at IMMA (Royal Hospital Kilmainham) ground, performing there on 13, 14 and 15 June 2008. In 2009, the performances were awarded Ireland's Meteor Music Award as the best international performance of the year.

In September, October and November 2008, Cohen gave a marathon tour of Europe, including stops in Austria, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia. In London, he played two more shows at the O2 Arena and two additional shows at the Royal Albert Hall.

[edit] Live in London

On 21 March 2009, Cohen released Live in London, recorded on 17 July 2008 at London's O2 Arena and released on DVD and as a two-CD set. The album contains 25 songs and is over two-and-a-half hours long. It was the first official DVD in Cohen's recording career. The quotation on the album referred to one hundred five-star reviews the tour gained in the international press in 2008.

2009 tour [link]

The third leg of Cohen's World Tour 2008-2009 encompassed New Zealand and Australia from 20 January to 10 February 2009.^[44] In January 2009, The Pacific Tour first came to New Zealand. Simon Sweetman in The Dominion Post (Wellington) of 21 January wrote "It is hard work having to put this concert in to words so I'll just say something I have never said in a review before and will never say again: this was the best show I have ever seen." The Sydney Entertainment Centre show on 28 January sold out rapidly, which motivated promoters to announce a second show at the venue. The first performance was well-received, and the audience of 12,000 responded with five standing ovations. In response to hearing about the devastation to the Yarra Valley region of Victoria in Australia, Cohen donated $200,000 to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal in support of those affected by the extensive Black Saturday bushfires that razed the area just weeks after his performance at the Rochford Winery in the A Day on the Green concert.^[45] Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper reported: "Tour promoter Frontier Touring said $200,000 would be donated on behalf of Cohen, fellow performer Paul Kelly and Frontier to aid victims of the bushfires."^[46]

On 19 February 2009, Cohen played his first American concert in fifteen years at the Beacon Theatre in New York City.^[47] The show, showcased as the special performance for fans, Leonard Cohen Forum members and press, was the only show in the whole three-year tour which was broadcast on the radio (NPR) and available as the free podcast.

The North American Tour of 2009 opened on 1 April and included the performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday, 17 April 2009, in front of one of the largest outdoor theatre crowds in the history of the festival. His performance of Hallelujah was widely regarded as one of the highlights of the festival, thus repeating the major success of the 2008 Glastonbury appearance. The performance has been included on 2010 Songs from the Road live release. During this leg, Cohen regularly performed new song, "Lullaby".

On 1 July 2009, Cohen started his marathon European tour, his third in two years. The itinerary mostly included sport arenas and open air Summer festivals in Germany, UK, France, Spain, Ireland (the show at O2 in Dublin won him the second Meteor Music Award in a row), but also performances in Serbia in the Belgrade Arena, in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Turkey, and again in Romania. On 3 August, Cohen gave an open air show at the Piazza San Marco in Venice.

On 18 September 2009, on the stage at a concert in Valencia, Spain, Cohen suddenly fainted halfway through performing his song "Bird on the Wire", the fourth in the two-act set list; Cohen was brought down backstage by his band members and then admitted to local hospital, while the concert was suspended.^[48] It was reported that Cohen had stomach problems, and possibly food poisoning.^[49] Three days later, on 21 September, on his 75th birthday, he performed in Barcelona. The show, last in Europe in 2009 and rumoured to be the last European concert ever, attracted many international fans, who lighted the green candles honouring Cohen's birthday, leading Cohen to give a special speech of thanks for the fans and Leonard Cohen Forum.

The last concert of this leg was held in Tel Aviv, Israel, on 24 September, three days after Cohen's 75th birthday, at Ramat Gan Stadium. The event was surrounded by public discussion due to a cultural boycott of Israel proposed by a number of musicians.^[50] Nevertheless, tickets for the Tel Aviv concert, Cohen's first performance in Israel since 1980, sold out in less than 24 hours.^[51] It was announced that the proceeds from the sale of the 47,000 tickets would go into a charitable fund in partnership with Amnesty International and would be used by Israeli and Palestinian peace groups for projects providing health services to children and bringing together Israeli veterans and former Palestinian fighters and the families of those killed in the conflict.^[52] However, on 17 August 2009, Amnesty International released a statement saying they were withdrawing from any involvement with the concert and its proceeds.^[53] Amnesty International later stated that its withdrawal was not due to the boycott but "the lack of support from Israeli and Palestinian NGOs."^[54] The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) led the call for the boycott, claiming that Cohen was "intent on whitewashing Israel's colonial apartheid regime by performing in Israel."^[55] On 24 September at the Ramat Gan concert, Cohen was highly emotional about the Israeli-Palestinian NGO Bereaved Families for Peace. He mentioned the organization twice, saying "It was a while ago that I first heard of the work of the 'Bereaved Parents for Peace'. That there was this coalition of Palestinian and Israeli families who had lost so much in the conflict and whose depth of suffering had compelled them to reach across the border into the houses of the enemy. Into the houses of those, to locate them who had suffered as much as they had, and then to stand with them in aching confraternity, a witness to an understanding that is beyond peace and that is beyond confrontation. So, this is not about forgiving and forgetting, this is not about laying down one's arms in a time of war, this is not even about peace, although, God willing, it could be a beginning. This is about a response to human grief. A radical, unique and holy, holy, holy response to human suffering. Baruch Hashem, thank God, I bow my head in respect to the nobility of this enterprise."^[56] At the end of the show he blessed the crowd by the Priestly Blessing, a Jewish blessing offered by Kohanim. Cohen's surname derives from this Hebrew word for priest, thus identifying him as a Kohen.^[57]

The sixth leg of the 2008-2009 world tour went again to US, with fifteen shows in October and November, with the "final" show in San Jose. The final leg included two new songs, "Feels So Good" and "The Darkness". But at that point, Cohen's "World Tour 2010" was already announced with the European dates in March.

The 2009 world tour earned a reported $9.5 million, putting Cohen at number 39 on Billboard magazine's list of the year's top musical "money makers."^[58]

Live releases [link]

On 14 September 2010, Sony Music released a live CD/DVD album, Songs from the Road, showcasing Cohen's 2008 and 2009 live performances. The previous year, Cohen's performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Music Festival was released as a CD/DVD combo. The DVD version included interviews with Kris Kristofferson and others.

2010 tour [link]

Cohen's 2008-2009 world tour was prolonged into 2010. Originally scheduled to start in March, the first dozen of the original European dates were postponed to September and October due to Cohen's lower-back injury.^[59] Officially billed as the "World Tour 2010", the tour started on 25 July 2010 in Arena Zagreb, Croatia, where in the week of the show 16 of Cohen's albums simultaneously entered the Croatian Top 40,^[60] while Cohen's work was presented by the translation of Book of Mercy, two of Cohen's biographies, and with selection of poems in major literary magazine Quorum, while there was also the translation of Linda Hutcheon's work on Cohen's literary output. In December 2010, the national daily newspaper Vjesnik ranked Cohen's show among the five most important cultural event in Croatia in 2010, in the poll among dozen of intellectuals and writers; it was the only event ranked which was not actually Croatian.^[61] The tour continued through August, with stops in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland, where on 31 July 2010 Cohen performed at Lissadell House in County Sligo. It was Cohen’s eighth Irish concert in just two years after a hiatus of more than 20 years.^[62] On 12 August, Cohen played the 200th show of the tour in Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden, where he had already played in October 2008; the show was four hours long.

The Fall leg of the European tour started in early September with an open-air show in Florence, Italy, and continued through Germany, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and Austria, where Cohen performed at the famous open-air opera stage of Römersteinbruch bei St. Margarethen im Burgenland, and then continued with dates in France, Poland, Russia (Moscow's State Kremlin Palace), Slovenia and Slovakia.^[63] In Slovenia's brand new Arena Stožice, Cohen accepted Croatia's Porin music award for best foreign live video programme, which he won for his Live in London DVD.^[64] Cohen's last European show was held in Sibamac Arena, in Bratislava, Slovakia. The shows in late September and October were performed without Sharon Robinson, who left this tour leg due to heavy illness; the setlist omitted songs co-written by her, but old Cohen standards were added instead.

The third leg of the 2010 tour started on 28 October in New Zealand and continued in Australia, including an open-air concert at Hanging Rock near Melbourne. It was the first show ever organised at the site. The tour finished with seven special dates added in Vancouver, Portland, Victoria and Oakland, with two final shows in Las Vegas' The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on 10 and 11 December. The very last concert on 11 December was the 246th show on the world tour which started on 11 May 2008.

The world tour 2010 was covered daily on the Flickr photo blog which was edited by Cohen's road manager, entitled Notes from the Road.

2010s [link]

In August 2011, Cohen completed work on the studio album, Old Ideas, with producer Ed Sanders.^[65]^[66] The album was released on 27 January 2012.^[67] The lyric for the song "Going Home" was originally published as a poem in The New Yorker magazine in January 2012, prior to the record's release.^[68] The album received uniformly positive reviews from publications like Rolling Stone,^[69] the Chicago Tribune,^[70] and The Guardian.^[71] At a record release party for the album in January 2012, Cohen spoke with The New York Times reporter Jon Pareles who states that "mortality was very much on his mind and in his songs [on this album]." Pareles goes to characterize the album as "an autumnal album, musing on memories and final reckonings, but it also has a gleam in its eye. It grapples once again with topics Mr. Cohen has pondered throughout his career: love, desire, faith, betrayal, redemption. Some of the diction is biblical; some is drily sardonic."^[72]

"Hallelujah"[link]

Main article: Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)

"Hallelujah" was first released on Cohen's studio album Various Positions in 1984. While the song initially had limited success it found greater popular acclaim through a cover by John Cale in 1991, which later formed the basis for a cover by Jeff Buckley. In recent years "Hallelujah" has been performed by almost 200 artists in various languages.^[73] Statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the Canadian Recording Industry Association; the Australian Recording Industry Association; and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry show that, prior to late 2008, more than five million copies of the song sold in compact-disc format. It has been the subject of a BBC Radio documentary and been featured in the soundtracks of numerous films and television programs.^[74]

Themes [link]

Recurring themes in Cohen's work include love, sex, religion, depression, and music itself. He has also engaged with certain political themes, though sometimes ambiguously so. "Suzanne" mixes a wistful type of love song with a religious meditation, themes that are also mixed in "Joan of Arc". "Famous Blue Raincoat" is from the point of view of a man whose marriage has been broken by his wife's infidelity with his close friend, and is written in the form of a letter to that friend. "Everybody Knows" is about sexual relationships during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s in which "the naked man and woman are just a shining artifact of the past."

Cohen is Jewish, and he has drawn from Jewish religious and cultural imagery throughout his career. Examples include "Story of Isaac", and "Who by Fire", the words and melody of which echo the Unetaneh Tokef, an 11th-century liturgical poem recited on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Broader Jewish themes sound throughout the album Various Positions. "Hallelujah," which has music as a secondary theme, begins by evoking the biblical King David composing a song that "pleased the Lord" and continues with references to Bathsheba and Samson. The lyrics of "Whither Thou Goest", performed by him and released in his album Live in London, are adapted from the Bible (Ruth 1:16-17, King James Version). "If It Be Your Will" also has a strong air of religious resignation.

Having suffered from depression during much of his life (although less so recently), Cohen has written much (especially in his early work) about depression and suicide. Beautiful Losers and "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" are about suicide; darkly comic "One of Us Cannot Be Wrong" mentions suicide; "Dress Rehearsal Rag" is about a last-minute decision not to commit suicide. An atmosphere of depression pervades "Please Don't Pass Me By" and "Tonight Will Be Fine." As in the aforementioned "Hallelujah," music itself is the subject of "Tower of Song," "A Singer Must Die," and "Jazz Police."

Themes of political and social justice also recur in Cohen's work, especially in later albums. In "Democracy," he both acknowledges political problems and celebrates the hopes of reformers: "from the wars against disorder/ from the sirens night and day/ from the fires of the homeless/ and the ashes of the gay/ Democracy is coming to the USA." He has made the observation in "Tower of Song" that "the rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor/ And there's a mighty judgment coming." In the title track of The Future he recasts this prophecy on a pacifist note: "I've seen the nations rise and fall/ …/ But love's the only engine of survival." In "Anthem", he promises that "the killers in high places [who] say their prayers out loud/ [are] gonna hear from me."

War is an enduring theme of Cohen's work that—in his earlier songs and early life—he approached ambivalently. Challenged in 1974 over his serious demeanor in concerts and the military salutes he ended them with, Cohen remarked, "I sing serious songs, and I'm serious onstage because I couldn't do it any other way...I don't consider myself a civilian. I consider myself a soldier, and that's the way soldiers salute."^[75] In "Field Commander Cohen" he imagines himself as a soldier of sorts, socializing with Fidel Castro in Cuba—where he had actually visited at the height of US-Cuba tensions in 1961, allegedly sporting a Che Guevara-style beard and military fatigues. This song was written immediately following Cohen's front-line stint with the Israeli air force, the "fighting in Egypt" documented in a passage of "Night Comes On." In 1973, Cohen, who had traveled to Jerusalem to sign up on the Israeli side in the Yom Kippur War, had instead been assigned to a USO-style entertainer tour of front-line tank emplacements in the Sinai Desert, coming under fire.

Deeply moved by encounters with Israeli and Arab soldiers, he left the country to write "Lover Lover Lover." This song has been interpreted as a personal renunciation of armed conflict, and ends with the hope his song will serve a listener as "a shield against the enemy." He would later remark, "'Lover, Lover, Lover' was born over there; the whole world has its eyes riveted on this tragic and complex conflict. Then again, I am faithful to certain ideas, inevitably. I hope that those of which I am in favour will gain."^[76] Asked which side he supported in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Cohen responded, "I don't want to speak of wars or sides ... Personal process is one thing, it's blood, it's the identification one feels with their roots and their origins. The militarism I practice as a person and a writer is another thing.... I don't wish to speak about war."^[77]

His recent politics continue a lifelong predilection for the underdog, the "beautiful loser." Whether recording "The Partisan", a French Resistance song by Anna Marly and Emmanuel d'Astier, or singing his own "The Old Revolution," written from the point of view of a defeated royalist, he has throughout his career expressed in his music sympathy and support for the oppressed. Although Cohen's fascination with war is often as a metaphor for more general cultural and personal issues, as in "New Skin for the Old Ceremony," by this measure his most militant album.

Cohen blends pessimism about political/cultural issues with humour and, especially in his later work, with gentle acceptance. His wit contends with his stark analysis as his songs are often verbally playful and cheerful. In "Tower of Song" the famously raw-voiced Cohen sings ironically that he was "born with the gift of a golden voice." The generally dark "Is This What You Wanted?" contains playful lines "You were the whore and the beast of Babylon/ I was Rin Tin Tin." In concert he often plays around with his lyrics ("If you want a doctor/ I'll examine every inch of you" from "I'm Your Man" sometimes becomes "If you want a Jewish doctor..."). He may introduce one song by using a phrase from another song or poem—for example, introducing "Leaving Green Sleeves" by paraphrasing his own "Queen Victoria," "This is a song for those who are not nourished by modern love."

Cohen has also recorded such love songs as Irving Berlin's "Always" or the more obscure soul number "Be for Real" (originally sung by Marlena Shaw).

Personal life [link]

Romantic relationships [link]

Leonard Cohen lived at Hydra, Greece in 1960 with Marianne C. Stang Jensen Ihlen (born in Norway 1935), and the song "So long Marianne" was written to and about her. Their relationship lasted for most of the 1960s.

Cohen had a relationship beginning in the 1970s with the Los Angeles artist Suzanne Elrod, with whom he has two children: a son, Adam, born in 1972, and a daughter, Lorca, named after poet Federico García Lorca, born in 1974. Adam Cohen began a career as a singer-songwriter in the mid-1990s and fronts a band called Low Millions, while Lorca took the part in her father's tour team during the 2008-2010 world tour as photographer and videographer. She also shot Cohen's video for the song "Because Of" in 2004, while her "Backstage Sketch" was included on Cohen's 2010 DVD Songs from the Road. She has directed and shot video clips for The Webb Sisters and Kamila Thompson. On 2 February 2011, Lorca gave birth to a daughter, Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen in a co-parenting relationship with biological father Rufus Wainwright and his partner, Jorn Weisbrodt.^[78]

Cohen has said that "cowardice" and "fear" prevented him from ever actually marrying Elrod.^[79]^[80] Elrod took the cover photograph on Cohen's Live Songs album and is pictured on the cover of the Death of a Ladies' Man album. She is also the "Dark Lady" of Cohen's 1978 book Death of a Lady's Man. Cohen and Elrod split up in 1979.

"Suzanne", one of his best-known songs, refers to Suzanne Verdal, the former wife of his friend, the Québécois sculptor Armand Vaillancourt, rather than Elrod.^[81]

In the 1980s, Cohen was in a relationship with the French photographer Dominique Issermann, who shot his first two music videos for the songs "Dance Me To The End Of Love" and "First We Take Manhattan." Today Issermann is most famous for her photo sessions with Carla Bruni^[82] and for her fashion photography for magazines like Elle; in 2010 she was the official photographer of Cohen's world tour. Her photographs were used for the covers of his 1993 book Stranger Music and his album More Best of Leonard Cohen and for the inside booklet of Cohen's 1988 record I'm Your Man (which is dedicated to Issermann with words: "All these songs are for you, D. I.").^[83]

In the 1990s, Cohen was romantically linked to actress Rebecca De Mornay.^[84] De Mornay co-produced Cohen's 1992 album The Future, which is also supposedly dedicated to her with an inscription which quotes Rebecca's coming to the well from the Book of Genesis chapter 24^[85] and giving drink to Eliezer's camels, after he prayed for the help; Eliezer ("God is my help" in Hebrew) is Cohen's Hebrew name, and Cohen sometimes referred to himself as "Eliezer Cohen" or even "Jikan Eliezer."^[86]

In the 2000s, Cohen has been romantically involved with Anjani Thomas. Together they wrote the album Blue Alert in 2006, produced by Cohen. Thomas co-produced and co-wrote some songs on Cohen's 2004 album Dear Heather and was involved in the recording of Cohen's 2012 record, Old Ideas.

Religious beliefs and practices [link]

Cohen is described as an observant Jew in an article in The New York Times:

Mr. Cohen keeps the Sabbath even while on tour and performed for Israeli troops during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. So how does he square that faith with his continued practice of Zen? "Allen Ginsberg asked me the same question many years ago," he said. "Well, for one thing, in the tradition of Zen that I've practiced, there is no prayerful worship and there is no affirmation of a deity. So theologically there is no challenge to any Jewish belief."^[87]

Cohen has been involved with Buddhism since the 1970s and was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1996; however he is still religiously Jewish: "I'm not looking for a new religion. I'm quite happy with the old one, with Judaism."^[88]

In his concert in Ramat Gan, Israel, on 24 September 2009, Cohen spoke Jewish prayers and blessings to the audience in Hebrew. He opened the show with the first sentence of Ma Tovu. At the middle he used Baruch Hashem, and he ended the concert reciting the blessing of Birkat Cohanim.^[89]

Since the late 1970s Cohen has been associated with Buddhist monk and teacher Kyozan Joshu Sasaki (a.k.a. Roshi), regularly visiting him at Mount Baldy Zen Center and serving him as personal assistant during Cohen's own reclusion into Mt. Baldy monastery in the 1990s. Roshi appears as regular motif or addressee in Cohen's poetry, especially in the Book of Longing, and also took part in 1997 documentary about Cohen's monastery years, Leonard Cohen: Spring 1996. Cohen's 2001 album Ten New Songs is dedicated to Joshu Sasaki.

Cultural references [link]

Cohen is mentioned in the Nirvana song "Pennyroyal Tea" from the band's 1993 release, In Utero. Kurt Cobain wrote, "Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld/ So I can sigh eternally." Cohen, after Cobain's suicide, was quoted as saying "I'm sorry I couldn't have spoken to the young man. I see a lot of people at the Zen Centre, who have gone through drugs and found a way out that is not just Sunday school. There are always alternatives, and I might have been able to lay something on him."^[90]

Awards, titles and honours [link]

Cohen was honored alongside Chuck Berry as the recipients of the first annual PEN Awards for songwriting excellence-at the JFK Presidential Library, Boston, Massachusetts on February, 26, 2012.

1964 the Québec Literary Competition Prize (awarded 1923-70 by the Province of Québec) The Favourite Game (Cohen's first novel)
1968 Governor General's Award (English language poetry or drama) for Selected Poems 1956–1968. (Refused)
1970 Honorary degree from Dalhousie University
1984 The Golden Rose, the main award at the international television festival Rose d'Or in Montreux, for I am a Hotel, made-for-TV short musical film written by Cohen and based on his songs.
1985 Canadian Author's Association Literary Award for Poetry for Book of Mercy
1986 Genie Award for Best Original Song for "Angel Eyes" from Night Magic (with Lewis Furey)
1988 Columbia Records Crystal Globe Award from CBS for I'm Your Man. The award is for artists who sell more than five million copies of an album in foreign territories
1989 Nominated for Juno Awards for Canadian Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year
1991 Officer of the Order of Canada
1991 Induction into the Juno/Canadian Music Hall of Fame
1991 Nominated for a Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year.
1992 Honorary degree from McGill University, Montreal.
1993 Juno Award for Male Vocalist of the Year. The video for Closing Time, directed by Curtis Wehrfritz, won for Best Video. He was also nominated as Producer of the Year (with co-producer Leanne Ungar, for "Closing Time").
1993 Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
1994 Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year and was nominated for the Juno Award for Album of the Year (for The Future). The video for The Future, directed by Curtis Wehrfritz, was nominated for Juno Award for Best Video.

1996 Ordained a Rinzai Buddhist monk.
2001 Nagroda Muzyczna Fryderyk, the annual Polish music award, for best foreign album (Ten New Songs).
2002 Nominated for Juno Award as Best Songwriter Cohen (with Sharon Robinson) for "Boogie Street", "In My Secret Life", and "You Have Loved Enough").
2002 Nominated for the Juno Award for Best Video for "In My Secret Life", directed by Floria Sigismondi. Ten New Songs nominated for Best Pop Album, and he was nominated for Best Artist.
2002 SNEP Award Cohen for more than 100,000 copies sold of Ten New Songs in France.
2003 Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour.^[91]
2004 Inclusion in Canada Reads 2005 with Beautiful Losers
2005 Induction into the Canadian Folk Music Walk of Fame.
2006 Induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
2007 Grammy for Album of the Year as a featured artist on Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters.^[92]
2008 Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[93]
2008 Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec.^[94]
2009 Long Listed for the Polaris Music Prize for Live in London ^[95]
2009 Nominated for Mojo Honours Lists for Best Live Act category.^[96]
2009 Meteor Music Award for Best International Live Performance for his 2008 show in Dublin's IMMA's Royal Hospital Kilmainham.
2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
2010 A second Meteor Music Award for Best International Live Performance for his 2009 show in Dublin's O2.
2010 Porin Award in Croatia in category of foreign video programme, for his Live in London DVD.^[97]
2010 Induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
2011 Glenn Gould Prize^[98]
2011 Prince of Asturias Awards, Literature, Spain
2012 Inaugural PEN Award for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence. Chuck Berry received same award.^[99]^[100]

Discography [link]

Main article: Leonard Cohen discography

Studio albums [link]

Title	Release date
Songs of Leonard Cohen	27 December 1967
Songs from a Room	April 1969
Songs of Love and Hate	March 1971
New Skin for the Old Ceremony	August 1974
Death of a Ladies' Man	November 1977
Recent Songs	September 1979
Various Positions	December 1984
I'm Your Man	February 1988
The Future	24 November 1992
Ten New Songs	9 October 2001
Dear Heather	26 October 2004
Old Ideas	31 January 2012

Poetry [link]

Six Montreal Poets. New York: Folkways Records, 1957.^[101]

Tribute albums [link]

Title	Release date
Famous Blue Raincoat	1987
I'm Your Fan	1991
Tower of Song	1995
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man	2006
Cohen - The Scandinavian Report	2009

Publications [link]

Collections: poems and songs [link]

Let Us Compare Mythologies. Montreal: Contact Press [McGill Poetry Series], 1956.^[102] reissued 2007
The Spice-Box of Earth. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1961.^[102]
Flowers for Hitler. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1964.^[102]
Parasites of Heaven. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1966.^[102]
Selected Poems 1956–1968. New York, Toronto: Viking, McClelland & Stewart, 1968.^[102]
The Energy of Slaves. London,Toronto: Cape, McClelland and Stewart, 1972. ISBN 0-7710-2204-2 ISBN 0771022034 New York: Viking, 1973.^[102]
Selected Poetry of Leonard Cohen. Penguin Classics, 1978.^[102]
Death of a Lady's Man. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1978. ISBN 0-7710-2177-1 London, New York: Viking, Penguin, 1979.^[102] - reissued 2010
Book of Mercy.London: Cape, 1984.^[102] - reissued 2010
Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs. London, New York, Toronto: Cape, Pantheon, McClelland & Stewart, 1993.^[102] ISBN 0-7710-2230-1
The Lyrics of Leonard Cohen. London, Omnibus, 1998.^[102] ISBN 0-7119-7141-2 2nd edition, 2009.
God is Alive. Magic is Afoot. Sarah Perkins and Ian Jackson illus. Toronto: Stoddart, 2000.^[102] ISBN 0-7737-6180-2
Book of Longing. London, New York, Toronto: Penguin, Ecco, McClelland & Stewart, 2006.^[102] (poetry, prose, drawings) ISBN 978-0-7710-2234-0
Poems and Songs (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) 2011

Novels [link]

The Favorite Game. London, New York, Toronto: Secker & Warburg, Viking P, McClelland & Stewart, 1963.^[102] Reissued as The Favourite Game. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart [New Canadian Library], 1994. ISBN 978-0-7710-9954-0
Beautiful Losers. New York, Toronto: Viking Press, McClelland & Stewart, 1966. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart [New Canadian Library], 1991. ISBN 978-0-7710-9875-8 McClelland & Stewart [Emblem], 2003.^[102] ISBN 978-0-7710-2200-5

Film and television [link]

Cohen was the subject of the 1965 documentary Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen, directed by Donald Brittain and Don Owen and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. This film, which pre-dates Cohen's career as a songwriter, explores his career as a well-known Canadian poet.^[103] Cohen also appeared in Owen's 1967 film The Ernie Game, which was entered into the 18th Berlin International Film Festival.^[104]
Cohen's music also appeared the following year in the 1966 NFB animated short Angel.
In 1968 Cohen performed on the BBC, both on the Julie Felix Show and in his own special, split into two thirty minute shows. The first clip still exists, while the second is only available as a bootleg CD.^[105]
Cohen makes a cameo appearance performing "The Stranger Song" in the Canadian film The Ernie Game (1968), which is based on the stories of Bernard Cole Spencer.
Cohen's music was popular among the directors of the New German Cinema, and appeared in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Beware of a Holy Whore (1971) and Werner Herzog's Stroszek (1977).
Cohen's 1970 performance at the Isle of Wight Festival was filmed by Murray Lerner, but remained unreleased until 2009 when it was released as Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970, and included Lerner's 2009 documentary material.
Robert Altman's 1971 western McCabe and Mrs. Miller used three Cohen songs on its soundtrack, as well the instrumental parts of The Stranger Song performed by Cohen. Multiple record singles were released during the film's distribution.^[106]
In 1972, Cohen's European tour was filmed by British director Tony Palmer; the re-edited material appeared in 1974 under the title Bird On a Wire and exists only as a bootleg VHS tape. Palmer's authorised and restored film was released in 2010.^[107]
In October 1979, Cohen recorded a show for German TV show RockPop Special, available only as a bootleg. The show is often rebroadcast by the German satellite TV channel 3Sat.^[108]
The Song Of Leonard Cohen, a 1980 documentary by Harry Rasky, featuring Irving Layton, includes highlights from Cohen's 1979 European tour and tracks from the LP Recent Songs.
In 1983, Cohen wrote and starred in made-for-TV short musical film I am a Hotel, based on his songs. It won the Golden Rose award at the Rose d'Or television festival in Montreux in 1984.
In 1985, Cohen co-wrote and co-composed Night Magic (starring Carole Laure) with fellow Quebecker, Lewis Furey.
Cohen is subject of the BBC documentary Songs from the Life of Leonard Cohen, filmed during his 1988 tour.^[109]
Cohen appeared as villain Francois Zolan in the "French Twist" episode of the American television series Miami Vice (season 2, episode 17), originally broadcast on 21 February 1986.
In 1988, Spanish TV station RTE televised the full version of Cohen's show in San Sebastian, 20 May, later aired in number of European countries and still rerun on the Spanish TV. It remains the only completely televised Cohen show.
In 1989, Cohen gave his first major performance on US television on Austin City Limits^[110] (recorded in November 1988). He performed for the show again in July 1993. Both programs have been often rebroadcast by the PBS.
"Everybody Knows" and "If It Be Your Will" play prominent parts in the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume
Three of Cohen's songs from his album The Future ("Waiting for the Miracle", "Anthem", and "The Future") are used in Oliver Stone's 1994 film Natural Born Killers. Songs from this album have also appeared in the films Wonder Boys (2000), starring Michael Douglas and The Life of David Gale (2003), starring Kevin Spacey.
In 1994, Cohen narrated NFB-produced documentary The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Cohen's years at the Mt. Baldy Zen Centre were the subject of 1997 French documentary Leonard Cohen: Spring 96 by Armelle Brusq, released on DVD in 2009.
In 2001, Cohen's song Hallelujah was used on the soundtrack of Shrek, in a version by John Cale.
The Favourite Game (Le Jeu de l'ange), based on his novel of the same title, was released in Canada in 2003.
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man was released in 2006. It features a 2005 tribute concert to Cohen, "Came So Far For Beauty", held at the Sydney Opera House and produced by Hal Willner. The film, directed by Lian Lunson, has appearances by Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, and a performance of "Tower of Song" by Cohen and U2. The film also features Cohen recalling significant parts of his life and career.
Cohen is the subject of a two-part documentary, Leonard Cohen: Under Review 1934-1977 (2007) and Leonard Cohen: Under Review 1978-2006 (2008), available separately on DVD.

References [link]

^ de Melo, Jessica (11 December 2009). "Leonard Cohen to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2010 Grammys". Spinner Canada. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5nmaflNd4. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
^ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame press release, "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces its Inductees for 2008," 13 December 2007. http://www.rockhall.com/pressroom/2008-inductee-announcement
^ The International Whos Who 2004 retrieved 22 April 2012
^ Cohen, Leonard (24 May 1985). The Midday Show With Ray Martin. with Ray Martin. ABC. Sydney. http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/raymartin1985.php. Retrieved 1 October 2008. "My – my mother was from Lithuania which was a part of Poland and my great-grandfather came over from Poland to Canada.".
^ Leonard Cohen Biography : Leonard Cohen was born to a Polish father and a Lithuanian-Jewish mother in Quebec in 1934.
^ Williams, P. (n.d.) Leonard Cohen: The Romantic in a Ragpicker's Trade
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Nadel, Ira B. Various Position: A Life of Leonard Cohen. Pantheon Books: New York, 1996.
^ Adria, Marco, "Chapter and Verse: Leonard Cohen," Music of Our Times: Eight Canadian Singer-Songwriters (Toronto: Lorimer, 1990), p. 28.
^ Nadel, Ira Bruce (1996). Various Positions: A Life of Leonard Cohen. Toronto: Random House. p. 51. http://books.google.com/books?id=gePAHlZHJJIC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=passion+without+flesh+leonard+cohen&source=bl&ots=IiIQ4fcaoP&sig=rjJ-dP0y3rzuFCPq6mK9aa8tgkM&hl=en&ei=v91_TpeiDufiiALNrYW6Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false.
^ The Leonard Cohen Files
^ The Blackening Pages
^ Iyer, Pico (22 October 2001). "Listening to Leonard Cohen | Utne Reader". Utne.com. http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Leonard-Cohen-Interview-at-Buddhist-Monk-Mountain-Retreat.aspx. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ Warhol, Andy: Popism. Orlando: Harcourt Press, 1980.
^ "• View topic - Please help identify this acetate master". Leonardcohenforum.com. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1207. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ "Sixties crooner Leonard Cohen makes comeback concert tour". London Evening Standard. 13 March 2008. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5nlWizAPg. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
^ Louis Black, "First We Take Berlin", Austin Chronicle, 2007, http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11798
^ Pictures of various European records with recording
^ de Lisle, T. (2004)Hallelujah: 70 things about Leonard Cohen at 70
^ Fitzgerald, J. (2001) Beautiful loser, beautiful comeback. The National Post, 24 March 2001.
^ ^a ^b Rohter, Larry (24 February 2009). "On the Road, for Reasons Practical and Spiritual". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/25/arts/music/25cohe.html. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
^ WARSAW 1985 by Daniel Wyszogrodzki, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/warsaw85.html
^ Covers by Maciej Zembaty, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/cover4.html
^ "Tour of 1988 in Europe". Leonardcohenfiles.com. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/88.html. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ News and Future Plans, 1995 http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/news0.html
^ A Thousand Kisses Deep, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/kisses.html
^ "Anjani Thomas". Leonardcohenfiles.com. 18 May 1999. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/anjani.html. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ The Blackening Pages, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/mirror.html
^ (n.d.) "blue alert 2006" - Reviews.
^ Book of Longing (Song) & Puppets-YouTube (KCRW Demo Version) http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=22253&p=238048
^ ^a ^b Glaister, Dan (8 October 2005). "Cohen stays calm as $5m disappears". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/08/usa.topstories3. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
^ ^a ^b Macklem, Katherine; Gillis, Charlie; Johnson, Brian D. (22 August 2005). Leonard Cohen Goes Broke. MacLean's. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012813. Retrieved 19 Sept. 2011, available from The Canadian Encyclopedia: The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
^ "Leonard Cohen awarded $9 million in civil suit". CTV.ca. 2 March 2006. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060302/leonard_cohen_060302/20060302?hub=Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "Leonard Cohen 'unlikely' to recover stolen millions: Funds taken by ex-manager going to be hard to recover". NME. 3 March 2006. http://www.nme.com/news/leonard-cohen/22406. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "Defamation Suit Against Songwriter Cohen Is Dropped (Update2)". Bloomberg News. 17 June 2008. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aYT7tI_tphK4&refer=canada. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
^ Smith, RJ. "Man of the Moment." Poetry
^ (2006) "Cohen returns to limelight with bestselling book" CBC Online. Sunday, 14 May 2006.
^ Book of Longing - Philip Glass and Leonard Cohen, http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/glassCD.html
^ "• View topic - Leonard Cohen: TOUR 2008". Leonardcohenforum.com. 13 January 2008. http://leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10031&sid=522ff761187a6889ff88870fd90c5dcd. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "2008 Tour schedule". Leonardcohenforum.com. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=10365. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Leonard Cohen reveals details of world tour | News". Nme.Com. 11 March 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/leonard-cohen/35054. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Glastonbury headliners revealed". BBC News. 8 February 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7234000/7234884.stm. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Glastonbury 2008 - Leonard Cohen". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/glastonbury/2008/artists/leonardcohen/?comment=response. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Glastonbury says 'Hallelujah' to Leonard Cohen". Nme.com. http://www.nme.com/news/leonard-cohen/37738. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "• View forum - The Pacific Tour 2009". leonardcohenforum.com. 2009. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewforum.php?f=31. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ Swash, Rosie (10 February 2009). "Leonard Cohen donates £90,000 to Australian bushfire victims". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/feb/10/leonard-cohen-australian-bushfire-donation. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
^ "Leonard Cohen donates concert profits to bushfire relief fund". Herald Sun. 11 February 2009. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25037004-5012974,00.html. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Leonard Cohen Dazzles At New York Tour Warm-Up". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/leonard-cohen-dazzles-at-new-york-tour-warm-1003943330.story. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
^ "Leonard Cohen OK after fainting on stage". CBC News. 19 September 2009. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2009/09/19/cohen-collapse.html. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
^ "Leonard Cohen collapses on stage". BBC News. 19 September 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8264447.stm. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
^ Kliger, Rachelle (13 July 2009). "Leonard Cohen's Ramallah gig called off". mideast.jpost.com (Jerusalem Post). http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443798463&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ "Leonard Cohen's blessed summer finale". Jerusalem Post. 26 September 2009. http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1253820682564&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
^ "Haaretz on proceeds from Tel Aviv concert". 2 August 2009. http://www.haaretz.com/news/leonard-cohen-s-tel-aviv-concert-sells-out-in-a-day-1.281246. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
^ "Amnesty International and the Leonard Cohen Fund for Reconciliation, Tolerance and Peace" (PDF). Public document. Amnesty International. 17/Aug/2009. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/025/2009/en/4f6becdc-e532-4f64-a755-c598a6c16e91/mde150252009en.pdf. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ A concert for tolerance and peace? For shame! by Chris Selley, National Post, 8 September 2009.
^ Leonard Cohen's Ramallah gig called off by Rachelle Kliger, Jerusalem Post, 13 July 2009.
^ "Cohen laudes the Bereaved Families for Peace". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLGWXsAp7GA. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Cohen blesses crowd with the Priestly Blessing". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo9WrFRI0xY. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Music's Top 40 Money Makers". Billboard. 26 February 2010. http://www.billboard.com/#/news/money-makers-page-1-1004071200.story. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
^ "Leonard Cohen postpones European tour after injury". Nme.com. 6 February 2010. http://www.nme.com/news/leonard-cohen/49613. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Leonard's 16 albums in Croatian Top 40". Leonardcohenforum.com. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=22807. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ Najveci kultruni dogadjaji u Hrvatskoj 2010. godine http://www.vjesnik.hr/pdf/2010/12/28/18A18.PDF (in Croatian)
^ "Leonard Cohen at Lissadell House". Lissadellhouse.com. http://www.lissadellhouse.com/cohen.html. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ by jarkko » 2 November 2009, 7:56 pm (2 November 2009). "Leonard Cohen Tour Dates 2010". Leonardcohenforum.com. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=19806. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "• View topic - Leonard Cohen receives the PORIN Award (Croatia)". Leonardcohenforum.com. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=253034#p253034. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ Re: Leonard Cohen Talks About First New Album of the Decade, by Jarkko Arjatsalo http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=266822#p266822
^ "OLD IDEAS - THE NEW ALBUM - January 31, 2012". Leonardcohenforum.com. 22 August 2011. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=282835#p282835. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
^ Leonard Cohen website
^ "Leonard Cohen’s “Going Home”". Culture Desk (The New Yorker). 16 January 2012. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/01/leonard-cohens-going-home-new-song.html. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ By Joe Levy (2012-01-26). "Old Ideas | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/old-ideas-20120126. Retrieved 2012-05-07.
^ Kot, Greg (24 January 2012). "Album review: Leonard Cohen, 'Old Ideas'". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-24/entertainment/chi-leonard-cohen-album-review-old-ideas-reviewed-20120124_1_leonard-cohen-album-review-12th-studio-album. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ Costa, Maddy (26 January 2012). "Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas – review". Culture > Music (London: The Guardian). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jan/26/leonard-cohen-old-ideas-review?newsfeed=true. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ Pareles, Jon (29 January 2012). "Final Reckonings, a Tuneful Fedora and Forgiveness". Music (The New York Times). http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/arts/music/leonard-cohen-reckons-with-god-in-old-ideas.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ Arjatsalo, J., Riise, A., & Kurzweil, K. (11 July 2009). A Thousand Covers Deep: Leonard Cohen Covered by Other Artists. The Leonard Cohen Files. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
^ Appleyard, Bryan (9 January 2005)."Hallelujah! — One Haunting Ballad Has Been the Soundtrack to Many Lives Recently. But Why? Bryan Appleyard on Leonard Cohen’s Uber-Song". The Times.
^ "1974 Interview from "Leonard Cohen" by Manzano". Webheights.net. 12 October 1974. http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/spain1.htm. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ (2001) "Cohen: Lover Lover Lover est né là-bas... Le monde entier a les yeux rivés sur ce conflit tragique et complexe. Alors, je suis fidèle à certaines idées, forcément. J'espère que ceux dont je suis partisan vont gagner.." L'Express, France, 04 octobre 2001
^ (1974)[1] 1974 in Barcelona, Spain. Published in 'Leonard Cohen' by Alberto Manzano, published in 1978.
^ "For Immediate Release:". News Archive. www.rufuswainwright.com. 02 February 2011. http://www.rufuswainwright.com/news/RW_Archive.aspx#2b042ae6-9780-44dc-8358-c8e038aa81b6:640386. Retrieved 2012-02-20. "Darling daughter Viva Katherine Wainwright Cohen was born on February 2, 2011 in Los Angeles, California to proud parents Lorca Cohen, Rufus Wainwright and Deputy Dad Jorn Weisbrodt."
^ "Transcript of Stina Lundberg's Interview in Paris, 2001". Webheights.net. 2001. http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/sl2001.htm. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ de Lisle, Tim (17 September 2004). "Who held a gun to Leonard Cohen's head?". The Guardian (London). http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,12102,1305765,00.html. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
^ "The Story of Suzanne". BBC Radio 4 interview with Suzanne Verdal McCallister (leonardcohenfiles.com). 6 June 1998. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/verdal.html. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
^ "Dominique Issermann". Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. 1 May 2010. http://www.carlabrunisarkozy.org/en/dominique-issermann/. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
^ Cohen, Leonard (1988 for the album, 2012 for the website). "I'm Your Man" (in English for album notes; website in Croatian). www.leonardcohencroatia.com. http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/glazba/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4&album=album8.php. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ Cohen, Leonard (1 June 1993). "Knowing Rebecca de Mornay Like Only Leonard Cohen Can". Interview magazine. http://www.webheights.net/speakingcohen/priv1.htm. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
^ Cohen, Leonard (1992 for the album, 2012 for the website). "The Future" (in English for album notes; website in Croatian). A Record by Leonard Cohen. www.leonardcohencroatia.com. http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/glazba/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=4&album=album9.php. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ The Online Jewish Book Community (JBooks.com) (June 2006). "Book of Longing (Review)". Reviews & Articles. www.leonardcohencroatia.com. http://www.leonardcohencroatia.com/bookoflonging/reviews12.htm. Retrieved 2012-02-20.
^ See Larry Rohter, "On the Road, for Reasons Practical and Spiritual." The New York Times, 25 February 2009. For an extended discussion of the Jewish mystical and Buddhist motifs in Cohen's songs and poems, see Elliot R. Wolfson, "New Jerusalem Glowing: Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen in a Kabbalistic Key," Kabbalah: A Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 15 (2006): 103-152.
^ "Who held a gun to Leonard Cohen's head?" The Guardian. 17 September 2004.
^ "Cohen using Jewish prayers and blessings in Hebrew in his concert in Israel". Forward.com. http://www.forward.com/articles/115181/. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ de Lisle, Tim (17 September 2004). "Who held a gun to Leonard Cohen's head?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/sep/17/2.
^ Office of the Governor General of Canada. Order of Canada citation. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 26 May 2010
^ Leopold, Todd (4 February 2008). "Herbie Hancock rides on the 'River'". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/04/herbie.hancock/index.html. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
^ "Indictees for 2008". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame official website. 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080201220931/http://www.rockhall.com/pressroom/2008-inductee-announcement/. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
^ "Quarante-neuf personnalités nommées ou promues dans l'Ordre national du Québec" (in French). Government of Quebec. 3 June 2008. http://www.premier-ministre.gouv.qc.ca/salle-de-presse/communiques/2008/juin/2008-06-03-en.shtml. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
^ "CBC Radio3 Announces Polaris Prize Longlist", 15 June 2009
^ MOJO Honours List 2009: Nominees Announced
^ "• View topic - Leonard Cohen wins the PORIN Award (Croatia)". Leonardcohenforum.com. http://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21769&p=229671. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ Glenn Gould Prize. Arts Journal
^ "Chuck Berry, Leonard Cohen Get First PEN Songwriting Awards". RollingStone Music. 28 February 2012. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/chuck-berry-leonard-cohen-get-first-pen-songwriting-awards-20120227. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
^ Shanahan, Mark; Goldstein, Meredeth (26 February 2012). "Leonard Cohen and Chuck Berry celebrated at the JFK Library". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/Boston/names/2012/02/leonard-cohen-and-chuck-berry-celebrated-the-jfk-library/pme86jnpLDKP4XYIMJi3XN/index.html. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
^ "F.R. Scott: Publications," Canadian Poetry Online, UToronto.ca, Web, 7 May 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Search results: Leonard Cohen, Open Library, Web, 10 May 2011.
^ "''Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen''". Nfb.ca. 5 May 2010. http://www.nfb.ca/film/ladies_and_gentlemen_mr_leonard_cohen. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "IMDB.com: Awards for The Ernie Game". imdb.com. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060375/awards. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
^ "''Leonard Cohen BBC-TV Summer 1968''". Likeatimemachinepoweredbybicycles.blogspot.com. 31 August 2007. http://likeatimemachinepoweredbybicycles.blogspot.com/2007/08/leonard-cohen-bbc-tv-summer-1968.html. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "McCabe and Mrs. Miller". Leonardcohenfiles.com. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/mccabe.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "Leonard Cohen Bird on a Wire DVD". Leonardcohenbirdonawiredvd.blogspot.com. 13 May 2010. http://leonardcohenbirdonawiredvd.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "Rockpop Special". Leonardcohenfiles.com. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/rockpop.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "Songs from the life of Leonard Cohen". Leonardcohenfiles.com. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/bbc-life.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
^ "Austin City Limits, 1988 & 1993". Leonardcohenfiles.com. http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/austin.html. Retrieved 26 July 2010.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leonard Cohen

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Leonard Cohen

Official website
The Leonard Cohen Files
Bird on a Wire (1972) at TCM Movie Morlocks
Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews, Vol. 33 (Fall/Winter, 1993). The Proceedings of the Leonard Cohen Conference, Red Deer College, 22-24 Oct. 1993.

v t e Leonard Cohen

Studio albums	Songs of Leonard Cohen Songs from a Room Songs of Love and Hate New Skin for the Old Ceremony Death of a Ladies' Man Recent Songs Various Positions I'm Your Man The Future Ten New Songs Dear Heather Old Ideas

Live albums	Live Songs Cohen Live Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979 Live in London Live At The Isle of Wight 1970 Songs from the Road

Compilations	The Best of Leonard Cohen So Long, Marianne More Best of Leonard Cohen The Essential Leonard Cohen

Tribute albums	Famous Blue Raincoat I'm Your Fan Tower of Song Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man

Concert tours	Leonard Cohen Tour 2008–2010 Old Ideas World Tour

Books	Let Us Compare Mythologies The Spice-Box of Earth The Favourite Game Flowers for Hitler Beautiful Losers Parasites of Heaven Selected Poems 1956–1968 The Energy of Slaves Death of a Lady's Man Book of Mercy Stranger Music Book of Longing

Related	Discography Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Sharon Robinson Jennifer Warnes Anjani Thomas Perla Batalla Julie Christensen Blue Alert (album) Bob Johnston I Am a Hotel Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen Book of Longing

Persondata
Name	Cohen, Leonard Norman
Alternative names
Short description	Canadian singer-songwriter
Date of birth	21 September 1934
Place of birth	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date of death
Place of death

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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Cohen

This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.

Oliver Shanti (Born Ulrich Schulz 16 November 1948 in Hamburg), also known as Oliver Serano-Alve, is a New Age musician. Founder of the band Inkarnation which was originally based on meditative music, and later transformed into "Oliver Shanti & Friends". Because of Oliver's unavailability, the rest of the group is continuing with multi-instrumentalist Margot Reisinger (formerly known as Margot Vogl and Margot Shanti), a member of the original staff, as "Existence".

Allegations of child sexual abuse [link]

In 2002, a warrant for his arrest was issued in Germany, with a €3000 reward offered, on suspicion of his having committed child sexual abuse.^[1] Shanti went missing at that time, and was reported^[2] to be living secretly in Germany or its adjacent countries. He was arrested in Lisbon, Portugal, on 29 June 2008,^[3] and charged with 314 cases of child abuse on 20 April 2009.^[4]^[5] After having attempted suicide during his pre-trial custody,^[6] "Oliver Shanti" was sentenced to six years and 10 months in prison on Friday, December 4, 2009 - after a Munich court convicted him of 76 counts of child sexual abuse.^[7]

Discography [link]

Main:

1987 - Licht-Prakash-Light (as Inkarnation)
1987 - Frieden-Shanti-Peace (as Inkarnation)
1987 - Listening to the Heart
1988 - Rainbow Way
1988 - Vila Nova Mellow Days (as Oliver Serano-Alve)
1989 - Walking on the Sun
1990 - Minho Valley Fantasies (as Oliver Serano-Alve)
1992 - Vida Para Vida (as Oliver Serano-Alve)
1993 - Tai Chi
1995 - Well Balanced
1996 - Tai Chi Too
1997 - Circles of Life: The Best of Oliver Shanti (compilation album including 3 new tracks)
1998 - Seven Times Seven
2000 - Medicine Power
2002 - Alhambra
2006 - Man Heaven Earth (compilation album featuring 2 tracks by "Existence" and Dahmani)

Projects:

1996 - Buddha and Bonsai Vol. 1
1997 - Shaman
1997 - Buddha and Bonsai Vol. 2
2000 - Buddha and Bonsai Vol. 3
2000 - Shaman 2
2002 - Buddha and Bonsai Vol. 4
2005 - Buddha and Bonsai Vol. 5: The Power of Silence

Thematical compilations:

Indiens: Sacred Spirits
Shaman: Red Indian Chill
before 1997 - Meditative Music of Budo-Gala: The Magic of Martial Arts
1997 - Spirit of Budo: The Power of Balance
1997 - 10 Years of Sattva Music
1999 - Tibetiya (including 3 new tracks by Oliver Shanti)
2001 - 15 Years of Sattva Music
2001 - Reiki: Brightness Healing

Other:

2008 single - Oliver Shanti feat. N.i.M.i - Roo Be Asemoon (Olugu Zamba Remix)
2010 single - Oliver Shanti feat. DJ Sunf - The Tree (rmx)

References [link]

^ "Munich - Search for Ulrich Schulz - Arrest warrant for serious child sexual abuse" (PDF). http://www.polizei.bayern.de/content/7/0/1/3/schulz_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2008-02-05. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Münchner Polizei jagt spirituellen Serien-Kinderschänder". http://www.merkur-online.de/nachrichten/politik/muenchner-polizei-jagt-spirituellen-serienkinderschaender-138178.html. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
^ "Alemão detido por pedofilia em Lisboa foi agraciado com Medalha de Mérito da Câmara de Cerveira (in Portuguese)". http://sol.sapo.pt/PaginaInicial/Sociedade/Interior.aspx?content_id=99868. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
^ "Anklage gegen Musiker Oliver Shanti erhoben". http://www.n24.de/news/newsitem_4990035.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
^ "Klage gegen Oliver Shanti - Sektenguru unter schwerem Verdacht". http://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/7/465595/text/. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
^ "Angeklagter Sekten-Guru Oliver Shanti überlebt Selbstmordversuch". http://www.welt.de/news/article5094870/Angeklagter-Sekten-Guru-Oliver-Shanti-ueberlebt-Selbstmordversuch.html. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
^ "Nearly seven years prison for child abuser guru Oliver Shanti". http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091205-23735.html. Retrieved 2009-12-05.

Persondata
Name	Shanti, Oliver
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1948-11-16
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

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Lhasa Filmography

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Contents

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Contents

[edit] Post-monastery records: Ten New Songs, Dear Heather and Anjani's Blue Alert

[edit] Book of Longing

[edit] Live in London

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Related pages: