Tibet
Tibet is an ancient nation on the roof of the world, with its own language, faith, art and centuries of self-government. Since China’s invasion of 1949–51 it has lived under an illegal occupation that Tibetans inside the country and in exile continue to resist.
This page is V-TAG’s introduction to Tibet: its land and rivers, its history as an independent nation, its living culture, the invasion and what has followed, and the Tibetans who keep their country’s story alive in exile. Every figure is attributed to the organisation that published it so that you can share it with confidence.
Understanding Tibet
Tibet’s story in three eras, from its empire to the present day, and the land, culture and people that carry it. Choose where to begin: every page stands on its own, and every fact on it is attributed to the organisation that published it, so that you can share it with confidence.
A History of Tibet
Tibet has more than thirteen centuries of written history as a nation with its own kings, laws, script and government. Its relations with Mongol and Manchu emperors were real, but they never made Tibet part of China. Tibet was an independent state when the People’s Republic of China invaded, and from 1913 to 1950, as the International Commission of Jurists found, it met the conditions of statehood under international law.
Before the 20th century: Historical Status of Tibet and its Empire
བཙན་པོའི་དུས་རབས། ལོ་རྒྱུས་ཐོག་རང་བཙན་ལྡན་པའི་རྒྱལ་ཁབ།
An archive of Tibet’s historical and cultural significance: its kings and its empire, its treaties, its faith and its own governments. It answers the false claim that Tibet was always part of China.
The 20th century: The Sino-Tibetan Conflict
བོད་རྒྱའི་དཀའ་རྙོག་བྱུང་རིམ།
From the Thirteenth Dalai Lama in the 1900s to the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s escape into exile: the invasion, the Seventeen-Point Agreement imposed by force, the military advance from the east to Lhasa, the Cultural Revolution and the Tenth Panchen Lama, and life in exile and under occupation.
The present and the path forward: Present Situation and the Path Forward
ད་ལྟའི་གནས་བབ་དང་མ་འོངས་ཀྱི་མདུན་ལམ།
The efforts made since 1959 by Tibetans, by China and by the international community to resolve the conflict: dialogue with the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, the delegations, the advocacy that has succeeded and the laws parliaments have passed, such as the Resolve Tibet Act of 2024. And the situation inside Tibet today.
Tibet Today
- Deadly earthquake strikes Drachen in Nagchu
- Arson attack on the Office of Tibet in Pretoria
- Former Ragya abbot jailed for five years over prayers for the Dalai Lama
The present situation, all reports
Explore
- Land and geography
Tibet stretches across the highest and largest plateau on Earth, a land of grasslands, great lakes and snow mountains where many of Asia’s greatest rivers are born. When Tibetans speak of their country they mean all three historic provinces, Ü-Tsang, Kham and Amdo, not only the smaller unit China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region.
- Culture and the flag
Tibetan civilisation grew from the plateau’s own traditions and from Buddhist learning brought from India, enriched by exchange with Nepal, China, Central Asia and Mongolia. It is a living culture, practised in Tibet despite heavy restrictions and carried by Tibetans across the world.
- Tibetans in exile
Since 1959 Tibetans in exile have built schools, monasteries, cultural institutions and a working democracy, first in India, Nepal and Bhutan and now across Europe, North America and Australia. Their work keeps Tibet’s language, faith and political voice alive while Tibetans inside cannot speak freely.
- Environment
The Tibetan plateau holds more ice than anywhere outside the Arctic and Antarctica, and its glaciers feed rivers that sustain hundreds of millions of people. Tibetans cared for this land for centuries; under occupation, it is being dammed, mined and emptied of its nomads.
- Glossary and library
A starting library for students, supporters and journalists: Tibetan and advocacy sources, UN and legal documents, histories, archives and language tools. Every link was checked on 11 October 2026.
- Self-Immolation Records and Memorial
How V-TAG writes about Tibet
V-TAG writes as a Tibetan advocacy group. Following the Central Tibetan Administration and Tibetan organisations, we describe China’s takeover of 1949–51 as an invasion and its rule since then as an illegal occupation. We use ‘Tibet’ for all three provinces, Ü-Tsang, Kham and Amdo, and write ‘the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region’ when we mean China’s administrative unit. Tibetan place names come first, with Chinese names in brackets where they help. Every death toll and statistic is attributed in the text to the organisation that published it, because the occupation makes independent counting impossible and the people who gather this evidence deserve credit. Dates, names, treaties and UN resolutions are checked against UN records and published scholarship. The Tibet Today section is reviewed every three months.
From understanding to advocacy
Knowing Tibet’s history is the first step in speaking up for it. Share what you have read with your school, your community and your representatives, and join the V-TAG team in your country.