Tibet
Lhasa Tour
Lhasa Tsedang Tour
Art of Bhutan
Laya Gasa Trek
Lhasa Yamdrok Tso Lake
Tibet Lasha Main Scenic Spots
Potala Palace
Standing in the Middle Beijing road on the Red Hill, the Potala Palace is known as the highest palace in the world. It was built in the 7th century and destroyed later in the 8th century. In the 17th century, the Fifth Dalai Lama spent three years to reconstruct it which consists of two main parts: the Red palace and the White palace. The main building stands in 13-storey 117 m. in height with the Red Palace in the middle. The main construction includes tomb stupas of successive Dalai lamas and Buddhist halls. The White Palace formally became the office for each Dalai Lama and for rest and work at politic and religious affairs.
Jokhang Temple
Situated at the heart of the old town of Lhasa, the Jokhang Temple was built in the 7th century. It is said to have taken three years for Songtsen Gampo, Princess Bhrikuti and Princess Wencheng from the Tang jointly to build it. The main chapel is a four storeyed building and integrates with the architectural style of Han, Tibetan, India and Nepal into the more embodied of the cosmological view of Buddhism. The whole temple is centered on the big chapel which is symbolized the core of the universe. The Shakyamuni chapel is the heart of the Jokhang Temple.
Sera Monastery
Located at the foot of Sera Utse mountain to the north of Lhasa city, the Sera is one of the three largest monasteries in Lhasa as well as one of the six biggest monasteries of Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism in our country. Sakya Yeshi, the famous disciple of Tsongkapa, built it in 1419. The 27th of the twelveth month in Tibetan calendar is its grand “Sera Monastery” Festival. The pilgrims from other places come swarming here in excitement.
Ramoche Temple
Located in the northeastern part of Lhasa, it was built in the middle of the 7th century, it was destroyed by fire for several times and reconstructed for several times. A large number of the mural paintings survived in the temple. Enshrined in the major hall are the images of Shakyamuni, Mezhureji and Maitreya. The Nepali Princess Bhrikuti brought the gilded Buddha Sakyamuni as an 8-year old boy to Tibet. The Ramoche Temple is the academy of the esoteric sect of the Gelugpa as well as the Upper-Tantric institution, which qualifies the monks to their study of the Buddhist’s scriptures.
Norbu Lingka
The Norbu Lingka, literally “Jewel Garden,” was the summer palace for the Dalai Lamas. Located in the west suburb of Lhasa, it was built in the 40’s of the 18th century and covers an area of 36 hectares. It was a resort for the 7th Dalai Lama for bathing in fountain. At the time, the high commissioners of the Qing dynasty stationing to Tibet built the first palace for the 7th Dalai Lama. Consequently, the 8th, the 13th, and the 14th Dalai Lamas had their palaces built here. Through 200 years expansion and management, it has become a large garden and palace today. During every holiday, people come here in dressing their best and with their tents and food with themselves, singing and dancing till night.
Barkhor Street
Encircling the circular street of the Jokhang Temple, a distance of 500 m, is the flourishing Bakhor Street taken completion with the Jokhang Temple. The Bakhor Street serves as a circumambulation circuit and a shopping center as well. Many commodities in the Bakhor Street are displayed with the characteristics of Tibet including local folk artcrafts, Tibetan-style daily goods. One may have chance to taste the right flavour of Tibetan food here.
Ganden Monastery
Located about 60 km. within the boundary of Taktse County to the east of Lhasa, the Gandan Monastery is one of the three largest monasteries as well as the first of six monasteries of the Gelug sect. Ganden literally “love and pleasure”, was first built in early 15th century by Tsongkapa, the founder of the Gelug sect, who presided over its construction. Main buildings in the monastery are the Assembly Hall, Tsongkapa's residence and Yangpachen hall.
Drepung Monastery
Located 5km on the slope of Mt Ganpoi Utse in the northwest of Lhasa, the Drepung monastery was built in 1416, which belongs to be the biggest monastery among the six monasteries of the Geluk sect. It covers an area of 250,000 sq. km. in which once lived 10,000 monks. The Fifth Dalai Lama lived here before he moved to Potala Palace. The monastery has a large collection of historical relics and Buddhist scriptures. The Shoton (Yogurt festival) held yearly in the 8th month, is the most hilarious occasion in the Drepung Monastery. The display of the great applique Thangka in the open air is held in the monastery, which is one of the biggest religious activities in Tibet.
The Chakpori Hill
Located behind the white pagoda on the opposite of Potala Plalace, the Chakpori hill is with altitude of 3725 m. In late 17th century, Desi Sangye Gyatso established the Tibetan Medical School on this hill in order to develop the Tibetan medicine. Because inside the temple on this hill, was enshrined with the sapphire Buddha’s sculpture of the Medicine Buddha. The cliffs are carved with vivid images of Buddha and the statues of deities and sutras. In the southeast slope on the half way to the grotto whose inside are enshrined with dozens of stone sculptures with vivid images which really express the artistic beauty of stone carving in Tibet.
The Naga Temple
The Naga Temple is located behind the Potala Palace. When the 5th Dalai Lama decided to rebuild the Potala Palace in the 17th century, stone and clay were taken from here and gradually a pool was formed. During the time of the Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, who built a three storeyed octagonal-shaped pavilion on its small island in the center of the pool intended to house for the statue of the Naga, the name”Naga Temple” came into existence.
Tsurpu Monastery
The Tsurpu monatery located in the boundary of Tohlung Dechen county on the upper reaches of the Tohlung river to the west of Lhasa, was built by the first Kamapa Lama Dusum Kyenpa in 1187. The monastery is representative of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. With its altitude of 4300m, it has a history of 800years. The Kargyu sect initiated the incarnation system of Living Buddhas. From then on, it was at the beginning for the leaders of Tibetan Buddhism to pass on the Esotericism. The Karma Kagyu sect has been referred to Black Hat sect. Because the Mongolian Khan Monge had given to the 2nd Karmapa Lama a gold-rimmed black hat, hence the name. From that time on, it has been gradually formed the inheritable incarnation system of the Black Hat sect as this monastery as the center.
Tibet Museum
Located at the southeast corner of the Norbu Lingka in Lhasa, it is the first museum equipped in modern facilities, covering an area of 53,959 sq. km. The exhibition Hall covers an area of 10,451 sq. km, grand and brilliant, it not only possesses a distinctive architecture style of Tibetan tradition, but also combined with its features of modern artistic charm, which afford a magnificent view.
The Tibet Museum has a large number of collections: for instance, hand copied Tibetan classics, pre-historical cultural relics, colored Thangkas, musical instruments, religious articles, handicrafts with distinctive national features and particular style of claywares.
The architectural layout outside the museum is well designed with an original craftsmanship and well arranged with green grass and luxuriatous trees.
Geothermal Resources and Hot Spring in Yangpachen
Located beside the Qinghai-Tibet highway to the west of Yangpachen town, about 90 km. away to the northwest of Lhasa, there is rich geothermal resource which is the biggest natural wet-steamed geothermic field with high temperature in our country as well as the highest geothermal field in altitude. The geothermal Spring Holiday Resort covers an area of 20,000 sq. km. inclusive of food, entertainment, accommodation, hot spring bath and swimming as well as some other services with the indoor swimming pool, such as wave lashed bath, fragrant bath and medical bath. One may see the hot springs crystally clear with more buoyancy, and all kinds of diseases can be cured if a visitor dips himself into the spring. Now it has become a famous sanatorium for tourists. In addition, tourists may have a chance to visit the highest altitude of the Cosmic Ray Observatory, the Yangpachen Monastery and the Nunnery.
The lower Tantric College
Located on the opposite side of the Jieri Hotel in East Beijing Road, the Lower Tantric College is situated as a sister college to the Upper Tantric College. ‘Gyumey Dratsang” in Tibetan means the Lower Tantric college for the Mashsamghika sect of the Buddhist doctrines which has erected in 14343, the year of water goat, the 7th Rabjung in Tibetan calendar by Jetsun Sherab Seng-ge, a disciple of Tsongkapa, the founder of the Yellow sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It is the chief monastery that specially spreads and practices the Esoteric Vehicle of the Yellow sect.
Qugong Ruins
Located about 5 km. to the northern suburb of Lhasa, the Quigong ruins cover a total area of 5000 sq. km. The archeologists have discovered mud puddles, kilns, stone coffins and graves. A large number of stone vessels, bone needles, bone awls, bone fragments argilliferous wares and animal bones are unearthed. According to the verification of the unearthed ruins and historical cultural objects, they are confirmed to be remains of the late Neolithic Age of the primitive society.
The chipped stone implements made up the most in number out of those unearthed cultural remains. Besides a small amount of delicately polished stone ware and jade ware ornaments are mostly used as head ornaments. The unearthed cultural objects have been manifested that the ancestors of the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau by that time had already entered the Bronze Age. The ruins were produced to be as old as 4000-5000years.