Late imperial China was marked by a multi-ethnic tradition of rulership that built on the foundations of the so-called “conquest dynasties.” This site will survey the central people, places, art and institutions that made Tibetan Buddhism as a religious ideology central to late imperial efforts at making China a multi-ethnic state. This ideology has served to link China with Tibetan and Mongolia regions of Inner Asia—through the imperial center at Beijing—for over seven hundred years. This tradition, which had its origins in the Xia or Minyak empire, developed significantly in the Mongol Yuan empire and was adopted on and off during the Chinese Ming imperial period. The last emperors of China were ethnic Manchus who expanded the Qing empire to include Mongolia and Tibet. This site will also explore the connections between the imperial family and the Tibetan Buddhist lamas who were responsible for court rituals and diplomacy.