Tibet (Xizang) Autonomous region in sw China. The capital and largest city is Lhasa. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average altitude of 4875m (16,000ft). An historically inaccessible area, mountains surround Tibet on three sides. The Tibetan Himalayas include the world's highest mountain, Everest. Nam Co is the world's largest natural salt lake. Many of Asia's greatest rivers (including the Yangtze, Mekong, Huang He, Indus, and Ganges) have their source in Tibet, although its major river is the Brahmaputra. The area has scant rainfall, and the Brahmaputra valley is the only agricultural area and the location of the major cities. Many of the people remain nomadic pastoralists. Tibet is rich in mineral resources, such as gold, copper, and uranium. The Chinese government built internal highways and links to the Chinese provinces. The principal religion is Tibetan Buddhism. Until 1959, a large percentage of the urban male population were Buddhist monks (lamas). Tibet flourished as an independent kingdom in the 7th century, and in the 8th century Padmasambhava developed the principles of Mahayana Buddhism and founded Lamaism. The spiritual leaders of Lamaism (the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama) also acted as the country's temporal rulers. In 1206, Genghis Khan conquered the region, and it remained under nominal Mongol rule until 1720, when the Chinese Qing dynasty claimed sovereignty. At the close of the 19th century, the Tibetan areas of Ladakh and Sikkim became part of British India, and in 1906 Britain recognized Chinese sovereignty over Tibet. In 1912, the fall of the Qing dynasty prompted the Tibetans to reassert their independence. China, however, maintained its right to govern, and in 1950 the new communist regime invaded. In 1951, Tibet was declared an autonomous region of China, nominally governed by the Dalai Lama. The Chinese government began a series of repressive measures, principally targeting the Buddhist monasteries. In March 1959, a full-scale revolt was suppressed by the Chinese Army. On December 25, 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to n India, and established a government-in-exile at Dharamsala. In 1965, China formally annexed Tibet as an autonomous region. The Cultural Revolution banned religious practice and destroyed 4000 monasteries. Many thousands of Tibetans fled into exile to escape the brutality of the communist regime. Despite the restoration of some of the desecrated monasteries and the reinstatement of Tibetan as an official language, human rights violations continued. Pro-independence rallies between 1987–89 were violently suppressed by the Chinese army. Area: 1,222,070sq km (471,841sq mi). Pop. (2000) 2,620,000.