Map of Autonomous Regions and Districts

The government of the People's Republic of China has set up so-called "Autonomous Regions" and smaller "Autonomous Districts" in areas where the non-Han population predominates. Although some important concessions are made to the non-Han (such as the non-imposition of the one-child family), there is no meaningful autonomy. At times the policy of destroying non-Chinese cultures has been pursued by violent means, most notably in Tibet during the Great Cultural Revolution when most of the Buddhist monasteries were pulled down and the monks returned to lay life. In more recent years, the gentler but more effective weapon of education has been used by the Beijing government to spread Chinese values. The Autonomous Regions are shown in red and Autonomous Districts are shown in lighter pink.