<p>Maroon-robed Tibetan nuns vigorously debate Buddhist precepts, while monks dash across an astro turf pitch on the roof of the world to kick a football.</p>.<p>The Tibetan Buddhist College, one of the highest places of learning on Earth, has over 900 students who study Mandarin, English and political studies.</p>.<p>It all takes place under the benign gaze of China's President Xi Jinping, whose portrait festoons the college, which is tucked into a hillside over 3,600 metres (11,800 feet) above sea level.</p>.<p>Beijing says it "peacefully liberated" the mountainous region of Tibet in 1951 and insists it has since brought infrastructure and education to a previously underdeveloped region.</p>.<p>Chinese flags and the aphorisms of Xi pepper the college grounds.</p>.<p>But there are no signs of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who fled the region in 1959 and set up a government-in-exile in India.</p>.<p><em>AFP</em> joined a government-steered media tour this week to the politically sensitive region.</p>.<p>Since 2008, it has been nearly impossible for journalists to visit except on organised trips.</p>.<p>Sporadic protests have broken out in Tibet in recent decades, including some self-innovations by monks in the heart of Lhasa and large protests against Chinese rule in 2008, which left many dead.</p>.<p>Rights groups say that now expressing any anti-government views is extremely dangerous, while simmering unrest is quickly stamped out.</p>.<p>During the media tour, the college students were glowing in their praise of their education.</p>.<p>Monks, nuns and novices rehearsed religious texts, showed off their English and demonstrated traditional Buddhist debates, with the speaker delivering emphatic rhetorical flourishes in a pebbled courtyard.</p>.<p>"I've been here for more than two years, said 32-year-old monk Xirekewang.</p>.<p>"We study from 6 am to around 9 pm in the evening. I like studying here and don't feel tired... the life is very good."</p>.<p>But China has been accused of deliberately diluting Tibetan culture, including by directing its education system.</p>.<p>Critics say freedom of movement and expression is tightly controlled amid an ongoing "sinicisation" of the region.</p>.<p>Academics also say it has become extremely difficult to carry out studies of the region, making it harder to independently assess the quality of life on the ground.</p>.<p>"The levels of repression needed to keep a lid on things in Tibet...tells me that things continue to be tense there," said Gray Tuttle, professor of modern Tibet studies at Columbia University.</p>.<p>The students were all smiles for foreign media at the well-funded Lhasa campus which boasts a new astro turf football pitch and running track.</p>.<p>The vice president of the university, Gesang Wangdui, told media the college's success is down to China.</p>.<p>"I am a party member. I am not a Buddhist -- I am a Communist."</p>
<p>Maroon-robed Tibetan nuns vigorously debate Buddhist precepts, while monks dash across an astro turf pitch on the roof of the world to kick a football.</p>.<p>The Tibetan Buddhist College, one of the highest places of learning on Earth, has over 900 students who study Mandarin, English and political studies.</p>.<p>It all takes place under the benign gaze of China's President Xi Jinping, whose portrait festoons the college, which is tucked into a hillside over 3,600 metres (11,800 feet) above sea level.</p>.<p>Beijing says it "peacefully liberated" the mountainous region of Tibet in 1951 and insists it has since brought infrastructure and education to a previously underdeveloped region.</p>.<p>Chinese flags and the aphorisms of Xi pepper the college grounds.</p>.<p>But there are no signs of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama who fled the region in 1959 and set up a government-in-exile in India.</p>.<p><em>AFP</em> joined a government-steered media tour this week to the politically sensitive region.</p>.<p>Since 2008, it has been nearly impossible for journalists to visit except on organised trips.</p>.<p>Sporadic protests have broken out in Tibet in recent decades, including some self-innovations by monks in the heart of Lhasa and large protests against Chinese rule in 2008, which left many dead.</p>.<p>Rights groups say that now expressing any anti-government views is extremely dangerous, while simmering unrest is quickly stamped out.</p>.<p>During the media tour, the college students were glowing in their praise of their education.</p>.<p>Monks, nuns and novices rehearsed religious texts, showed off their English and demonstrated traditional Buddhist debates, with the speaker delivering emphatic rhetorical flourishes in a pebbled courtyard.</p>.<p>"I've been here for more than two years, said 32-year-old monk Xirekewang.</p>.<p>"We study from 6 am to around 9 pm in the evening. I like studying here and don't feel tired... the life is very good."</p>.<p>But China has been accused of deliberately diluting Tibetan culture, including by directing its education system.</p>.<p>Critics say freedom of movement and expression is tightly controlled amid an ongoing "sinicisation" of the region.</p>.<p>Academics also say it has become extremely difficult to carry out studies of the region, making it harder to independently assess the quality of life on the ground.</p>.<p>"The levels of repression needed to keep a lid on things in Tibet...tells me that things continue to be tense there," said Gray Tuttle, professor of modern Tibet studies at Columbia University.</p>.<p>The students were all smiles for foreign media at the well-funded Lhasa campus which boasts a new astro turf football pitch and running track.</p>.<p>The vice president of the university, Gesang Wangdui, told media the college's success is down to China.</p>.<p>"I am a party member. I am not a Buddhist -- I am a Communist."</p>