Tibet
Tibet is a region in East Asia covering much of the Tibetan Plateau spanning about 2,500,000 km². It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Tamang, Qiang, Sherpa and Lhoba peoples and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese and Hui people. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,380 m. Located in the Himalayas, the highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain, rising 8,848.86 m above sea level. The Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century. At its height in the 9th century, the Tibetan Empire extended far beyond the Tibetan Plateau, from Central Asian's Tarim Basin and the Pamirs in the west to Yunnan and Bengal in the southeast. But once the process of fragmentation began, the empire divided into a variety of territories.