This dynamic map below demonstrates the long-term development of monasteries in Tibet from the 7th century to 2013. The red color shows the density of the clusters of monasteries. This map with timeline bar shows many interesting phenomenon. For example, after the 18th century, monasteries in western Amdo had significant growth. In fact, this trend is closely related to the rise of Khoshut Mongols in Kokonor (Kung, 2015). Moreover, this map also clearly shows that there are numerous monasteries in western Kham, which has been neglected by the previous scholarship and therefore deserves further study.
Reference
Ling-Wei Kung. “The Development of Tibetan Monasteries in Amdo and the Mongolian Factors during Ming-Qing Dynasties: Study on Tibetan Monks in The Manchu-Mongolian Routine Memorials of Lifanyuan,” Bulletin of The Institute of History and Philology Academia Sinica, 86-4 (2015).