You should visit the Tibet region and ask the locals. But:

1. As a US citizen, you would probably not a get permit necessary for entering the Tibet region.

2. If you could get a permit for Tibet region and go there, you would be followed by police officers dressed in civilian clothing. The locals would be quite hesitant to speak to you.

(Source: been there long ago, seen it). China has many qualities, but freedom is not one of them.