For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation.

Everest North Base Camp is situated at 5,208 meters, in Tibet. During the summer the camp is accessible by road.

Built in the shape of a mandala, Samye monastery is the oldest in Tibet. The legend says that Śāntarakṣita, the abbot from the Nalanda buddhist university in India, found the auspicious location but only after the arrival of Padmasambhava and his taming of the local spirits, was the building successfully completed, around 775AD.

Namtso Lake is the highest salt lake in the world, at 4817m, and has an area of 1870 square km.

The Buddha statue in Leshan, Sichuan province of China, is the largest carved Buddha statue in the world, being 71 meters tall and 28 meters wide at the shoulders.