Strong National Identity

Today Tibet has around forty-one different races including, Tibetan, Menpa, Luopa, Han Chinese, Hui, Sherpa, and Deng. The Southern and eastern areas of Tibet are the most largely populated regions. Tibetan people and Chinese people do not consider themselves as part of the same race; they share no common identity with each other. There are no common laws or literature and no common understanding of history or of language between the two separate identities. Tibetans, while suppressed by Chinese government have been able to rebuild and resist Chinese domination over Tibetan beliefs and practices. The unyielding persistence of Tibetan culture is chiefly due to the Tibetan people and their dedication to their national identity.

Tibetan national identity is very strong among the people of Tibet. The national identity revolves around Buddhism; Tibet's primary belief system. Unlike the people of other cultures, Tibetan people find the most meaning of their life through religious (Buddhist) practices. When there religious practices were disrupted by the Chinese government Tibetans were forced to see the world in a new way, a way which they have since rejected.

Mount Kailas of Tibet :

In the foreground are Buddhist shrines which are believed to radiate a healing energy.

Sites such as this were targeted for destruction

Stripping people of their culture in order to install a new culture can be dangerous as well as detrimental. Those who are being forced to be part of a new culture will ultimately either rebel against the new culture or refuse the new culture and be punished for refusing. Many different cultures across the world have either been subdued or have overtaken other cultures; this has resulted in two or more cultures merging or with an entire culture being erased and eventually forgotten. Tibetans, however, continue to hold onto their cultural background.