Seminar on Xizang: Scholars from China and overseas gather for Beijing seminar on Tibetan studies

More than 300 academics from China and overseas have gathered in Beijing for a seminar to discuss the latest Tibetan studies research. The 7th International Seminar on Tibetan Studies has the theme of Prosperity and Development of Tibetan Studies and the Opening-up of Xizang. Huang Yue has more.

During the opening ceremony, a total of 64 Qomolangma Awards, the highest award in the field of Tibetan studies in China, were presented to researchers across the country.

Five academic journals in the Tibetan language were announced to have been officially selected for the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index, or CSSCI, which is known as one of the most authoritative academic citation databases.

Since 1991, the seminar has been held every four years.

This year's event will cover various topics such as education, Tibetan Buddhism, social transformation and change, and architecture and living conditions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

ROGER CROSTON British Scholar"I'm looking forward to exchanging ideas, views, opinions, maybe some arguments, and cooperation, building bridges, building understanding between Chinese academics, Tibetan academics, Indian academics. I'm particularly interested in the historical interactions between Western countries in Tibet in the 19th, 20th century up until 1950. That's my specialty."

PETER HERRLE German Scholar"I am in the panel which is dealing with architecture. I have a background in sociology and architecture. I was head of a research and teaching unit at the University of Technology in Berlin. From that position, I was working among many other subjects, also on Tibetan architecture and its changes, and especially on Tibetan rural architecture, which is vernacular, which is different. I mean from the monasteries and the other architecture, a lot of research has been done in those fields."

One local expert at the seminar, Zha Luo, from the China Tibetology Research Center, dismissed recent allegations on Xizang forcibly sending children to boarding schools for assimilation.

ZHA LUO Researcher China Tibetology Research Center"Xizang sets up boarding schools because people there live in remote grasslands or in the mountains. Counties are far away from each other. Boarding schools can bring children together and educate them from across the sparsely populated terrain. Tibetan language and culture are also taught in schools, so there's no such thing as the so-called culture elimination."

HUANG YUE Beijing"Running from August 14 to 16 (Monday to Wednesday), this year's Beijing International Seminar on Tibetan Studies stands as a significant event on the academic calendar. As one of the largest events in the field of Tibetan studies, the seminar aims to showcase the latest research findings, and promote exchanges and cooperation among international scholars. Huang Yue, CGTN, Beijing."