The Beijing International Seminar on Tibetan Studies opened on August 2. Zhang Yijiong, vice president of Chinese Association for the Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture, introduced the basic status of the prosperous development of Tibetan culture. He believes that the home of Tibetology is in China, and the future and hope of Tibetology are also in China.

Lai Shanglong, chief advisor to the United Nations Economic Development Cooperation Project, pointed out that due to Tibet’s special geographical position, it can take advantage of similar histories and cultures of surrounding Himalayan countries to establish cooperation links, developing Tibet into a leader for cultural protection and development in the region.

Francesco Sferra, professor at the Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli in Italy, has come to Tibet to conduct research every year since 2008. He says that Tibetology research has been conducted in Italy for a long time, but China is the center of Tibetology research, and he is honored to once again arrive in China to participate in the academic seminar.

325 people are attending this seminar, with 216 delegates from China and 109 delegates coming from abroad. Over the course of the three day seminar, there will be 19 group discussions, including on topics such as “‘The Belt and Road’ and opening key construction channels in South Asia” and “social transformation and changes”. In addition, the seminar will also arrange a visit to the reincarnated lama thematic exhibition and a discussion forum on the ethnographic documentary “Mundane Pure Land”.

The Beijing Seminar on Tibetan Studies has been held for five times since the first one in 1991. The seminar is co-sponsored by the Chinese Association for the Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture, the China Tibetology Research Center, and the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences.