Ping Xu, professor of Architecture Studies has published an article, “The Mandala Model, Infused with Indigenous Beliefs, Systematically Structures and Sustains the Tibetan Buddhist Landscape above 3000 Meters” in a peer-reviewed referenced journal, The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability (Volume 7, Number 2, 2011, pp.401-428).
This paper examines the spatial structure and religious meanings of Tibetan temples and their surrounding landscape. By using the methods of field investigations and overlay mapping, the author found that Tibetan villages and temples occur above 3,000 meters. Religious beliefs, with respect to and fear of nature, serve as means to protect and sustain the unique cultural landscape and the vulnerable natural conditions in the Qingzang Plateau in China.
Tibetan sustainable practices have presented some solutions by compromising the conflicts and creating coexistence between ecological balances, human development, and social and cultural values.