Kham
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas, and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham presently covers a land area distributed between five regions in China, most of it in Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan, with smaller portions located within Qinghai, Gansu and Yunnan provinces.
Kham men with western tourist
Monastery in Kham
ROC's control in Kham: Light blue line on the west represents the boundary in 1912–1917, after which the ROC was pushed back to the brown line during 1918–1932. By 1945, it arrived at the dotted red line. The dark blue was the Simla Convention boundary that ROC turned down.
Tibetan government's Kalon Lama Jampa Tendar, Governor General of Kham
Amdo is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the birthplace of the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu to the Drichu (Yangtze). Amdo is mostly coterminous with China's present-day Qinghai province, but also includes small portions of Sichuan and Gansu provinces.
Panoramic view of Kumbum Monastery in Amdo
Labrang Monastery in Amdo