Tibet under Qing rule refers to the
Qing dynasty's rule over
Tibet from 1720 to 1912. During the Qing rule of Tibet, the region was structurally, militarily and administratively controlled by the Qing dynasty established by the
Manchus in
China. In the
history of Tibet, the Qing administrative rule was established after
a Qing army defeated the
Dzungars who occupied Tibet in 1720, and lasted until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912, although the region retained a degree of political autonomy under the
Dalai Lamas. The Qing emperors appointed imperial residents known as the
Ambans to Tibet, who commanded over 2,000 troops stationed in
Lhasa and reported to the
Lifan Yuan, a Qing government agency that oversaw the empire's frontier regions. The
protectorate that China had established over Tibet in the 18th century remained into the 20th century, but by the late 19th century Chinese hegemony over Tibet remained in theory but in actuality was a dead letter given the weight of China's domestic and foreign-related burdens. However, the Chinese began to take steps to reassert their authority shortly after the
British expedition to Tibet.