ABSTRACT
The borderland between China and Tibet is a remote, little-known region containing some of the highest mountains and most rugged terrain in the world. It is a region of cultural conflict and fusion, and numerous peoples are intermixed in the heterogeneous population. In 1935, a commission to establish Sikang as a province was set up at Kangting by the Central Government. Liu Wen-hui’s numerous military and civilian representatives govern all of Sikang Province as it appears on conventional maps. The Provincial Commissioner of Education in Sikang admits that the official policy encounters almost insuperable obstacles. Economically, Sikang is backward and undeveloped. There is a considerable amount of trade, nevertheless, since Sikang is the main gateway between China and Tibet. The most valuable item of trade between Sikang Province and the rest of China comes not from Tibet, but from remote Chinese and tribal areas of the province. The potentialities for future economic development in Sikang Province are difficult to estimate.
