As the political, religious and economic heart of the Tibetan world, Lhasa finds its place on the north bank of Lhasa River with an altitude of 3658m (about 12000 feet). In Tibetan, Lhasa means The land of the Buddha or Holy Place. The city has a long history of 1300 years with a population of 400,000.

Shigatse, used to be called Tsang by Tibetan, connects with three countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim in the south, Ngari in the west, Nagqu in the north and Lhasa and Shannan in the east. It occupies an area of 176,000 square kilometers. It is 800 kilometers from east to west and 220 kilometers from north to south, with a border of 1,354 kilometers.

Shannan is situated in the lower, central region of the Tibet Autonomous Region, is the birthplace of Tibetan culture.The region is approximately 80,000sq km,occupies one fifteenth of the total land area of the tibet autonomous region. It included 12 countries, four of which are in border areas.Shannan has a population of 325,000 people.

Nagri, the western region of Tibet, is one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Tibet. Huge, scarcely, populated and at an average altitude of over 4500m, it is a frontier in one of the remotest corners of Asia. The landscape is dominated by the Himalaya range to the south, the huge salt lake of the Changtang plateau to the north and the trans-Himalayan ranges, such as the Gangdise, which separate them.

Nyingchi, 'throne of the sun' in Tibetan, is also called 'the Switzerland of Tibet', lies in the southeast of Tibet. Nyingchi has the average latitude of approximately 3,000 meters above the sea level while the lowest place here is only about 900 meters above the sea level, covers a total area of 117,000 square km and a population of more than 140,000 including Tibetans, Monba, Lhola and other minority groups with their unique customs.

Located in eastern Tibet, the Chamdo Prefecture covers an area of 108,600 square km, neighbouring Sichuan on its east, Yunnan on its south and Qinghai in the north. The political and commercial center of the region is Chamdo Town, which is just located along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. Two rivers passing through the town divide it into four districts.

Nagqu is located in the northern region of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Its name is derived from the river(of the same name), which is the northern most part of the Nujiang river. The river was also referred to as the black river in the past.

This is the highest railway on Earth, over 5000 meters in places. It is quite luxurious, and the carriages are specially designed to help passengers avoid Altitude sickness.

There are two main routes through Sichuan to Lhasa, a northern route and a southern route. Both routes take an superlative scenery. The northern route offers a range of scenery from forested alpine country to the high plateau of the Changtang and passes many large monasteries; the southern route is lower, wilder and more alpine, passing fewer towns and monasteries and stunning lakes.