cathyz2022

Tibet Plateau or Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the world's highest plateau, with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, known as the "roof of the world". Actually, Tibet Plateau and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are different geographical concepts. The concept of the Tibetan Plateau in China refers only to a part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, whose range refers to the area south of the Kunlun Mountains, north of the Himalayas, east of the Karakorum Mountains, and west of the Hengduan Mountains. After the mid-20th century, the term "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" was widely used in China.

However, in foreign countries, the term "Tibetan Plateau" was adopted to describe the whole Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which had been used since the beginning of the 20th century. The scientific research community in China has adopted the Tibetan Plateau to translate "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau". So Tibetan Plateau mentioned below will be stated in a broad concept as Qinghai- Tibet Plateau.

Tibetan Plateau is the East Asian plateau region, the highest plateau in the world, known as the "Roof of the World", "Snowy Plateau" and "Third Pole". Most of the areas are located in the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in western China, and part of Indian-controlled Kashmir. In China, it includes Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, Sichuan Province, and Yunnan Province, accounting for 23% of the total area of China.