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Lhasa Overview Lhasa Dining Lhasa Shopping Lhasa Entertainment Lhasa Transportation Lhasa Highlights Lhasa Attractions

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Lhasa, the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, has a history of more than 1,300 years. It is the political, economic, cultural and transport center of the region. Lhasa covers an area of close to 30,000 square km. It has a downtown of 544 square km and a population of 400,000; 140,000 of its people live in the downtown area. Lhasa is home to the Tibetan, Han, and Hui peoples, as well as many other ethnic groups, but the Tibetan ethnic group makes up 87 percent of the total population.

The Potala Palace is made up by the White and Red Palaces, with the Red Palace in the center flanked on both sides by the White Palace, Lhasa, Tibet.

Lhasa has beautiful scenery. The Lhasa River, known as the "merry blue waves," runs through the snow-covered peaks and gullies of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, extending 315 km. The river empties into the Yarlung Zangbo River at Quxu, forming a scenic wonder that features blue and white water waves.

The ancient city of Lhasa stands by the Lhasa River. Inside the city towers the Potala Palace. The city features a combination of traditional and modern things, including prayer wheels and computers.

Located at the bottom of a small basin surrounded by mountains, Lhasa has an elevation of 3,650 meters and sits at 91'06E and 29'36N, the center of the Tibet Plateau. Blessed with flat land and mild weather, Lhasa is free of frigid winters and unbearably hot summers, having an annual average daily temperature of 8 degrees C (43 degrees F). It enjoys 3,000 hours of sunlight annually, much more than all other cities in this regard, giving the city its title of "sunlit city."

Lhasa enjoys an annual precipitation of 500 mm. It rains mainly in July, August and September. The rainy seasons in the summer and fall are the best seasons of the year, when it rains mostly at night, and is sunny in the daytime.

dining

Local snacks, Lhasa, Tibet. Although Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, tourists will still find that the food available here is largely what can be found in other parts of China. Among this, Sichuan style cooking is very popular. The standard of restaurants and cooking here has vastly improved in recent years here and Tibetan food is becoming increasingly popular with visitors. The local staples are tsampa (roasted barley bread), momo (dumplings filled with vegetables and meat) and thukpa (noodles with meat).

There are so many restaurants in Lhasa that it is possible to eat in a different place every night! The most popular area to search around is the Tibetan quarter near Barkhor Square. Tashi Restaurant, Kailah Restaurant, the Third Eye Restaurant, the Alougang Restaurant and the Snowland Restaurant are all good places to sample some of Tibet's more unusual cuisine.

The restaurant in the Banak Shol Hostel is as good a place as any to eat, and the Yak burger with fries (RMB16) is extremely delicious. There is a roof top restaurant in the Barkhor Cafe which is always very crowded in the summer. Internet can also be found here (RMB40 per hour), although a student price of RMB30 can usually be negotiated. Another internet cafe with the same prices, is situated 50 yards west of the Banak Shol, on the other side of the road.

shopping

In Lhasa, Barkhor is the most famous traditional Tibetan shopping market. Tourist can find lots of odd and fascinating stuff. Small shops and stores on the street sell a variety of items like Buddha figures, prayers flags, fur hats, amulets, conch-shell trumpets, rosaries, horse bells, copper teapots and jewelry inlaid with turquoise and other gems.

Tibetan Carpet

Tibetan carpet is one of the three main kinds of carpets in the world, renowned for its excellent workmanship, unique patterns showing strong ethnic and religious characteristics. Some of the carpets are simple but elegant; others are noble and luxurious. All of them are exquisite works of art.

Thangka

A Thangka is a painted or embroidered banner. In Tibetan the word 'than' stands for flat and the 'ka' means painting. Therefore, the Thangka is a kind of painting done on flat surface but which can be rolled up. The most common shape of a Thangka is the upright rectangular form.

Based on the techniques and materials, thangkas can be divided into several categories. Generally they are divided into two major categories: those which are painted and those which are made of silk.

The painted thangkas are further divided into five categories: gold background; red background; black background; cotton support outlines and touched up with colors; painted on cotton canvas with water soluble pigments, tempered with a herb and glue solution.

Fresco

Tibetan fresco painting is an important part of Tibetan art. The painting of Buddha image must follow the rigid principles. They include the images of Buddha in his many manifestations, portraits of saints, great masters, founders of various Buddhist sects and the stories of their lives, wars, scenes of manual labour, construction of monasteries and everyday life of the people.

Wooden Tablet Painting

Wooden Tablet Painting represents another branch of Tibetan art. Their subjects and pictorial composition are similar to those of thangka while the difference is that the pictures are drawn on wooden tablets of various shapes. Some of them have handles attached to them for holding and hanging.

Sand Painting

The materials of Sand Painting are colored sand and minerals. They are filled inside a cone with a tiny hole at the tip. Many disperse thought the hole will form a single line in the picture. The subject is usually `mandala'.

Bronze

The Tibetan artists absorbed the influences of the art of Han, Nepalese and Indian sculpture and developed a style and craft of their own which was distinctively Tibetan. The shaping of a bronze is a complicated process. It is so difficult and time-consuming that sometimes many artists spent all their lives making them but did not live to see them completed.

Masks

The dizzling Barkhor Street is crowded with street stalls and shops selling everything a pilgrim dreams of, Lhasa, Tibet.

Masks depict the range of beings from deities to men and animals, qiangmu religious dances and folk tales. Those depicting humans are carved to display a certain characteristic such as honesty, harshness, greed or humor. Animals depicted are mainly deer, yaks, sheep and birds.

Butter Sculpture

Most Butter Sculptures produced in are made for the Lamp Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Tibetan year. The butter is first mixed with ice water, and then mineral dyes mixed in. Working on a wooden support, a world of flowers and grass and towers and buildings, populated with men and animals and deities, is then created.

Wooden and Stone Carving

These beautiful engravings lavishly decorate the columns, beams, door, windows and cross-beam supports in Tibetan monasteries and temples. Shrines, platforms seating deities, altars, stupas and some ritual objects are often adorned with wood carving or stone carving.

Clay Molding

Clay modeling of miniature Buddhist image represents a form of artistic expression in Tibetan Buddhism. As the modeling are not difficult to make and the material is easily obtainable, such objects of art are turned out in large quantities by Tibetan. They can be found almost everywhere.

Ritual Objects

The numerous ritual objects of Tibetan Buddhism may be divided into six groups symbolizing respect, praise, attendance, devotion, protection and guidance. Kasayas, necklaces and hadas are symbols of respect. Bells, drums, bone flutes, and six-string lutes symbolize praise. The Buddhas' throne, water vessels, flower baskets, and canopies belong to the attendance group. Rosary beads, the fish-shaped wooden percussion instrument, scepters, bells, and initiation vessels are used to show devotion. Images of protecting deities, and written secret messages signify protection. Wheels, cylinders, tablets, banners and stones with the `Six-Syllable True Teaching' on them symbolize guidance.

entertainment

Lhasa, the “Sunlight City ", is becoming an " All Night City " with a colorful nightlife emerging in recent years. Nowadays in Lhasa, disco bars and KTVs are becoming usual entertainment. Also, nightclubs become to appear.

In other cities of China, some people find entertainment in karaoke halls, but Tibetan in Lhasa usually prefer spending their time in the "Langma" halls — Tibetan-style recreational centers.

Tourists can drink beer and enjoy traditional Tibetan performance by professional and amateur artists. Most of them are the local Tibetan residents.

One can also find the west music and songs in Lhasa, mostly among the young Tibetans and people from outside.

Here we give you some information about the Entertainment places:

Langma opera theatre

Add: Jiangsu West Road

Description: Tibetan decorations; Tibetan dances and songs, sometimes Indian dances are performed.

Open till 2AM

JJ'S Disco

Add: opposite the Potala on the southwest side of People's Park

Description: Two Tibetan performs and a mix of love songs and techno-music.

Listen Bar

Add: Nyangrain Lu, opposite and just south of the CAAC office.

Description: on weekends perform live music by local bands, sometimes Tibetan, sometimes Chinese.

transportation

By plane

Most foreign travelers arrive in Tibet by plane. From China, Chengdu is the easiest and most popular starting point. Daily flights carry tourists to Lhasa in about 2 hours and cost RMB1200. Chongqing, a neighboring city, also has flights to Tibet. However, there are only two flights every week. It is also possible to go from Beijing and Xi'an (only one flight every week). Luckily, Flights from Shanghai are new, operating on Wednesdays and Sundays. Travelers in Nepal may also fly from Kathmandu.

Gonggar Airport is 98 km south of Lhasa city. Airport buses take tourists to the city soon after they arrive. The drive costs foreigners RMB40 and takes about two hours. Taking a taxi costs RMB250 to RMB300. Minibuses from Shigatse to Lhasa also stop outside the airport to make extra money.

By bus:

The only overland way out of Lhasa is to Golmud in Qinghai Province. The journey takes between 30 to 50 hours, depending on road conditions. Tickets for Golmud can be bought at the main bus station, south of the Lhasa Hotel. Prices are RMB424 for a Japanese sleeper bus or RMB244 for a clapped-out Chinese bus. It is also possible to continue the journey all the way to Xining, the capital of Qinhai Province. Long-distance buses also go to other places in Tibet, such as Shigatse, Tsetang, Chamdo and Bayi, although this can be difficult and expensive for western travelers.

The bus station in Lhasa is located southwest of Barkhor Square and has departures to Medro, and Gungkar to visit Drigung Til Monastery and Lhundrub to visit Talung Monastery.

Thanks to the increasing number of tourists, minibus, as mentioned above, has become a booming industry in Tibet. The area south of Barkhor Square is where minibuses set off for Tsurphu Monastery and Deprung Monastery. Another place to look for a minibus is in front of the Kirey Hotel, where there are daily minibuses to Naqu, Samye and Shigatse.

Rented Vehicles:

Many foreigners have realized the convenience and comfort of traveling in Tibet by rented vehicle. The most popular route is from Lhasa to the Nepalese border, Zhongmu, past Yamdrok-tso, Gyantse, Shigatse, Sakya, Everest Base Camp and Tingri. Other good ideal destinations include Mt Kailash and Nam-tso. Since traveling by Land Cruiser is more expensive than by bus, it is advisable to talk to other travelers to get the latest information on which agencies are offering good deals and which are ripping people off.

Land cruisers have the capacity for up to five travelers, along with the mandatory guide who will do nothing of the sort, and the driver, who will appear to be doing his best to run both you and all other vehicles off the road. The land cruisers cost Y1000 per day, so it is of course most economical to travel in a group of five. An itinerary must be decided upon and submitted to the PSB for approval before travelers are allowed to leave Lhasa. Usually the PSB will approve any route along established tourist sites. However, once the route is fixed and stamped, there is to be no deviating from it. If in doubt whether to include something in your tour, include it. The agony of leaving Tibet, and feeling that one did not see or do enough is far worse than the subsequent hole in one's pocket.

Getting around the city:

The best way to travel from one place of interest to another is by minibus (fare: RMB2). Taxis in Lhasa are not equipped with a meter, and tourists are generally charged RMB10 when they want to go within the city. For a destination out of the city, they should first negotiate with the driver. Pedicabs can serve two travelers at a time for between RMB4 to RMB7. Most hotels also rent bikes to travelers (RMB2 per hour or RMB20 per day for ordinary bikes and RMB3 per hour, RMB30 per day per day for mountain bikes.)

highlights

Attactions

Tibet Museum Sera Monastery Potala Palace Norbulingka (the Summer Palace) Jokhang Temple Ganden Monastery Drepung Monastery Barkhor Street