Tibet, province-level administrative region of China, located in a high-mountain area in the southwestern part of the country. It is officially called the Tibet (Chinese Xizang) Autonomous Region (TAR). It is bounded by the Chinese provinces of Szechwan to the east, Yunnan to the southeast, and Tsinghai to the northeast; the Sinkiang Uighur autonomous region of China to the northwest; the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir to the west; and India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar (Burma) to the south.

In the 18th century Tibet came under the control of China. However, in the course of the following century, Chinese authority diminished steadily. Meanwhile, British colonial officials in India, including administrator Warren Hastings, attempted to secure a foothold in the region. These efforts proved unsuccessful, mainly because of Tibetan resentment of an unsuccessful Nepalese invasion of Tibet in the 1790s, which the British had supported.

Staple crops include barley, wheat, millet, buckwheat, beans, hemp, and mustard. Butter from the yak or the mdzo-mo (a crossbreed of the yak and the cow) is the main dairy product. Tibetans supplement their diet with garden produce, including radishes, turnips, carrots, potatoes, peas, parsley, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, onions, mint, celery, cauliflower, pumpkins, squash, and eggplant. Imported foods include tea, sugar, and rice.

Major industrial towns are Lhasa and Nagqu.

Area 471,700 square miles (1,221,600 square km); population 2,620,000.

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