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BEIJING: China announced Thursday that foreign tourists would be allowed to travel into Tibet again from May 1, after the Himalayan region was sealed off following violent unrest there last month.
Independent travellers as well as those on group tours would be welcomed back, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing Tibet's tourism bureau.
Chinese authorities began clearing Tibet of foreign tourists after riots erupted in the region's capital, Lhasa, on March 14 amid protests by Tibetans against China's 57-year rule of the remote region.
Foreign reporters were also banned from Tibet, as China sent in a massive security force to quell the unrest, which spread to other areas of western China with Tibetan populations.
China has said Tibetan rioters killed 18 civilians and two policemen in the unrest. Tibetan exiles have said 135-140 people were killed in the Chinese crackdown.
Unlike other parts of China, foreign travellers require a special permit to enter Tibet.
Alongside the Great Wall and the famed Terracotta Warriors in Xian, Tibet has become one of the most popular destinations for foreign travellers in China.
Its spectacular landscape, Buddhist culture and access to Mount Everest base camp are among Tibet's top drawcards.
Xinhua had earlier reported massive increases in the number of tourists, both foreign and domestic, to Tibet since the opening of a controversial railway across the Tibetan plateau and into Lhasa in 2006. - AFP/ac
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