Lhasa Hotels

Lhasa(Chinese:拉萨;pinyin:lāsà) is a unique tourist destination. It is the amazing capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the political, economic, cultural, transport and tourist centre of the Region. Situated on the north bank of the Kyichu River (Lhasa River), this Sunlight City, provides visitors with an entree to a splendid history of more than 1,300 years through its ancient palaces, temples and monasteries.

Today Lhasa is a city where increasingly modern life coexists with holy Buddhism. This ancient city covers an area of about 30,000 square km (about 7,413,155 acres), with a total population of 474,500, of which 87% are Tibetans. Other nationalities, such as Han, Hui, Menba, Luoba, Sherpa, etc. also live harmoniously in the city. Most Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism , which even today is the source for many legends and mysteries in Tibet.

Lhasa is rightly one of the most featured and dreamt-about cities in the world. This is not only because of its remoteness, its high altitude at 3,650 meters means limited accessibility, but also because of its impressive heritage of over a thousand years of cultural and spiritual history that has helped to create the romantic and mysterious Tibetan religion.

Major attractions include the Jokhang Temple, Ramoche Temple, Potala Palace, Barkhor Bazaar, Norbulingka Palace, and three great monasteries of Ganden, Drepung and Sera. The Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace, and the three monasteries Ganden, Drepung and Sera are key cultural relics under state protection.

The city of Lhasa contains three concentric paths used by pilgrims to circumambulate (walk around) the sacred Johkhang Temple, many of whom make full or partial prostrations along these routes in order to gain spiritual merit. The innermost, the Nangkor (Nang-skor), is contained within the Jokhang Temple, and surrounds the sanctuary of the Jowo Shakyamuni, the most sacred statue in Tibetan Buddhism. The middle circumambulatory, the Barkor (Bar-skor), passes through the Old Town and surrounds the Jokhang Temple and various other buildings in its vicinity. The outer Lingkor (Gling-skor) encircles the entire traditional city of Lhasa. Due to the construction of a large new street, Beijing Lam, the Lingkor is not usually used by pilgrims today.

Every August the Shoton Festival is held in Lhasa, one of Tibet's biggest traditional festivals held since the 7th century.

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