China turning Tibet into strategic pillar of its economy

Proceeding from an article, Foreign Policy unveils that the evolving dynamics of Tibet under Chinese rule are explored, highlighting the dramatic shift from a once isolated and resistant region to a booming tourist destination. 

A young woman in an ornate brocade dress gazes up at the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa’s oldest and holiest pilgrimage site. Around her, people dressed in vibrant, traditional clothing move about: women with braided hair spin handheld prayer wheels, couples in matching chuba robes exchange loving glances, and men in fur-lined nomadic coats stride through the alleys, swords by their sides, reminiscent of a romanticized past.

However, a closer look reveals the scene isn’t quite as it appears. The jewelry is imitation, the braids are extensions, and the chubas are rented. Many women are spinning their prayer wheels incorrectly. The young woman in the brocade dress isn’t a true pilgrim, but a Chinese tourist striking a pose for a photographer. As she adjusts for the perfect shot, an actual pilgrim impatiently walks through the frame, glaring at the obstruction to his path along the prayer route.

Since China's invasion of Tibet in 1950, Tibetans have resisted becoming part of Communist China. Tibetan guerrilla forces fought against the People's Liberation Army until the early 1960s, but despite their military defeat, their loyalty to the Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959, remained steadfast. In an effort to quell dissent, Beijing has maintained a significant military presence in Tibet. However, in the early years of the annexation, the number of Chinese civilians in the region was relatively small. Many Chinese workers viewed being stationed in Tibet—a remote, culturally unique area isolated by vast mountain ranges—as a hardship and required special incentives to relocate there.

For a long time, China regarded Tibet as a distant, underdeveloped region, claiming it was liberated from a feudal theocracy by China. However, this narrative has shifted in recent years. 

After decades of attempting to integrate the once-independent Tibet through force, Beijing may have found a more effective method of making Tibet an integral part of China: by transforming it into a major tourist destination.

Mass tourism to Tibet became a reality in 2006 with the completion of a railroad to Lhasa. That same year, Chinese authorities declared it "the year of rural tourism," promoting it as a strategy to bring prosperity to regions like Tibet, which had long struggled with poverty. Three years later, tourism was officially recognized as a "strategic pillar industry" for the national economy, and it has since grown at an extraordinary rate.

In 2023 alone, over 55 million tourists visited Tibet—more than 15 times the region's population. The Chinese Communist Party's latest five-year plan for Tibet aims to further expand tourism. Today, Tibet is viewed in the Chinese public imagination as the nation's spiritual and ecological core, even as many Tibetans continue to resist China's presence and seek greater autonomy.

By Naila Huseynova