Ancient Historical City - Lhasa

Origin of Lhasa

Lhasa origins from the name of places in Tibetan language, according to the philosophy of Buddhism and Ben religion, "lha" means God, so the meaning of this place's name may be the place of God. Lhasa is a cultural ancient town with a history of 1400 years. In 633 B.C, Songtsen Gampo moved the capital of Tubo Dynasty from Shannan Yalong there, and built the Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple, in this way, that place became an important town with the largest population at Tibet plateau, which laid the foundation of the formation of Lhasa. From the collapse of Tubo Dynasty, at the end of the 9th century, to the beginning of Ming Dynasty, Lhasa has been under the flip controls of local forces and developed slowly. But the round Circumanbulation around the Jokhang Temple became lively, and shaped the early rudiment. With the found of the three temples and the canonization of Dalai Lama by the Qing government, especially after the 17th century B.C, Lhasa became the power center of Tibet. Having gone through riots and wars, Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple were rebuilt and expanded. From that time on, many houses, stores, hostels and restaurants appeared. The streets linked the Circumanbulation were flourishing and filled with merchants, becoming the main place of distributing goods. In 1960, the Lhasa city was established. In 1965, the Tibet Autonomous Region was set up and Lhasa was made the capital of Tibet. For the past 30 years, the reconstruction of the old town of Lhasa has been in order, and many systems were completed.

Famous Scenic spots of Lhasa

Lhasa is one of the 24 historical and cultural cities published by the State Council in 1982. Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, Norbulingka, Drepung Monastery, Sela Temple and Kandal Temple are all protected cultural relics of China. Potala Palace has been added into the world heritage by UNESCO. The Baguo Street is a good reflection of the ancient city. It's no exaggeration to say that without the Baguo Street, there won't be the old city. Near the Baguo Street, there are some small Jokhang Temples, the most ancient market-Chongsaikang, the Lhasa Yamen .etc. all in all; there are more than 100 historical and cultural heritages. For thousands of years, Baguo Street is the largest distributing place of trade. Nowadays, the market of small goods, especially for the special racial items and traditional handicrafts, plays an important role in the whole market. The GSR of Lhasa is 202 Kcal per square centimeter, so Lhasa owns the beautiful reputation of sunny city. Now, Lhasa is the transport hub of Tibet.