Most of the more than 300 thousand square kilometers in this area are in the Tibetan Plateau, much of which is above 4,000 meters. In India the land falls to below 200 meters. In the west is part of the western end of the Nyainqentanglha(9) Mountains(10), which top out at over 7,000 meters in the peak(11) of the same name. Along the Tibeto-Burman(12) border are the Himalayas; they continue into Linzhi Prefecture. At Namjagbarwa Peak they reach over 7,700 meters. In between is the fertile Brahmaputra(13) valley, still over 3,000 meters in the west. In Linzhi the river flows through a hairpin turn before entering Arunachal State. From there if flows south-southeast as the Dihang until it is joined by the Dibang and Lohit Rivers at the southern border of Arunachal State; at that point it is properly called the Brahmaputra. The juncture is lake-like in its spread. True lakes (co or yumco) can be found high on the plateau: Nam, straddling Lhasa Prefecture's northern boundary, and Yamzho, Puma and Chigu in western Shannan.
Among the more than two million people living here, there is no majority first language. Central Tibetan(14) is the most important, accounting for about four in ten. The next most numerous speakers use Adi(15), also called Abor, amounting to more than three in 20. Probably about one in ten speak Putonghua Chinese. Another important language in Arunachal State is Nisi or Nissi spoken by perhaps one in 20(16). Probably many Tibetan speakers learn Chinese. All of these but Chinese are Tibeto-Burman languages, so this group constitutes a majority.
The Tibetan speakers are Lamist Buddhists; the Chinese follow a syncretic mix of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and folk practices(when observant); and the rest is divided between Christians and local religions--probably in that order of predominance. So there is probably no religious majority either.
Lhasa, Tibet's capital, is the only city with more than 100 thousand residents.
Tibetans migrated over several centuries from northern Yunnan into the upper Brahmaputra valley(17), being firmly established there by the end of the sixth century. The Tibetans brought with them Mahayana Buddhism, which had replaced the original Tibetan belief among the elite.
Subsequent religious developments
northwest, north and northeast
southeast
south of Arunachal State
west of Arunachal State, and southwest of Shannan Prefecture
west of Shannan Prefecture, and southwest of Lhasa Municipality
(1) Xizang or Hsi-Tsang or Tsi-sang in transliterated Chinese; Bodyul in Tibetan; the Chinese can be translated as Western Treasurehouse.
(2) Zhonggua or Chung-hua in transliterated Chinese; it can be translated as Middle Kingdom.
(3) Shih in transliterated Chinese.
(4) Lin-chih is an alternate transliteration from Chinese. Also called Nyingchi.
(5) Shan-nan is an alternate transliteration from Chinese.
(6) Diqu or Ti'ch'u in transliterated Chinese.
(7) State in Hindi is pradesh.
(8) Bharat is the alternate official name.
(9) Nyenchen Tanglha is an alternate transliteration from Chinese.
(10) Shan in transliterated Chinese.
(11) Feng in transliterated Chinese.
(12) Burma is officially called Myanmar.
(13) Called the Yalung Zangbo or Tsongpo or Ya-lu-tsang-pu Jiang or Chiang (river) in transliterated Chinese.
(14) Sometimes called Bhotia in India.
(15) Including Galo Adi.
(16) There may also be substantial numbers of Miri and Assamese speakers.
(17) The part north of the Himalayas that is called the Yarlung; this is downstream from the part called the Maquan or Bamqog.