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Lhasa Travel Guide

Lhasa is a holy city and capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region. situated at the roof of the world, Lhasa City is known as " the city of sunshine" and " the land of Gods". Located at an altitude of 3658 meters and at the bottom of a small basin surrounded by mountains and rivers, Lhasa has a mild climate, without extremely cold winter and severely hot summer. Therefore, throughout the year for Lhasa are quite suitable for travelling. Travelers can travel to Lhasa by train and by air.All pervaded sacred religious atmosphere mixed with leisure, happiness and the smell of sunshine, Lhasa has been the destination of travel the beginning of lives for many people.
Facts of Lhasa
Chinese Name: 拉萨 (lā sà)
Location: Located at the bottom of a small basin surrounded by the Himalaya Mountains
Dialing code: (+86) 0891
Zip Code: 850000
Area: Lhasa has an area of 30,000 sq km. Its downtown area covers 544 sq km.
​Population: Lhasa has a population of more than 0.4 million of different ethnic groups such as Tibetan, Hui, and Han. And 14 thousand people live in the downtown city.
City Flower: Galsang flower
Administrative Division: Lhasa is a prefecture-level city that consists of 2 municipal districts (Chengguan, Tuilong Deqing), 6 counties (Linzhou, Dangxiong, Nimu, Qushui, Dazi, Mozhu Gongka)

History of Lhasa
Honored with a long history of 1300 years, Lhasa is quite rich in unique cultural and spiritual resources, especially its Buddhism culture. Today, numerous cultural relics and historic sites covered with thick religious color remain in Lhasa. The attractions of Lhasa do not only lie in its cultural and historic sites, but also in its breathtaking natural scenery.

What to see in Lhasa?
Lhasa prefecture-level city covers an area of close to 30,000 km2 (12,000 sq mi). It has a central area of 544 km2 and a total population of 500,000; 250,000 of its people live in the urban area. Lhasa is home to the Tibetan, Han, and Hui peoples, as well as several other ethnic groups, but overall the Tibetan ethnic group makes up a majority of the total population. Located at the bottom of a small basin surrounded by the Himalaya Mountains, Lhasa has an elevation of about 3,600 m and lies in the center of the Tibetan Plateau with the surrounding mountains rising to 5,500 m (18,000 ft). The air only contains 68% of the oxygen compared to sea level. The Kyi River (or Kyi Chu), a tributary of the Yarlung Zangbo River), runs through the city. This river, known to local Tibetans as the "merry blue waves,", flows through the snow-covered peaks and gullies of the Nyainqêntanglha mountains, extending 315 km (196 mi), and emptying into the Yarlung Zangbo River at Qüxü, forms an area of great scenic beauty.

Lhasa Barkhor Street Lhasa Sera Monastery
Lhasa Potala Palace
Lhasa Sera Monastery
Lhasa Norbulingka Lhasa Jokhang Temple Tibet Nietang Buddha
Lhasa Norbulingka 
 Lhasa Jokhang Temple
Tibet Nietang Buddha
Lhasa Ganden Monastery Lhasa Chakpori Hill Tibetan Mentsekhang Hospital
Lhasa Ganden Monastery
Lhasa Chakpori Hill 
Tibetan Mentsekhang Hospital
Lhasa Ramoche Monastery Lhasa Zaki Temple Tibet Museum
Lhasa Ramoche Monastery
Lhasa Zaki Temple
Tibet Museum

When to visit Lhasa?

Lhasa has an annual precipitation of 426 millimetres (16.8 in) with rain falling mainly in July, August and September. The rainy season is widely regarded the "best" of the year as rains come mostly at night and Lhasa is sunny during the daytime. Lhasa features a cold steppe climate (Koppen Bsk). Due to its very high altitude, Lhasa has a cool, dry climate with frosty winters. It enjoys nearly 3,000 hours of sunlight annually and is thus sometimes called the "sunlit city" by Tibetans.
How to reach Lhasa?
By Air: Taking plane is comfortable and time saving , but offers little time for you to acclimatize to the altitude; this may cause sickness. Lhasa Gonggar Airport is located in Gonggar County, approximately 65 kilometers southwest of the urban area of Lhasa. Round-trip between Chengdu and Lhasa has the largest number of flights, passengers are advised to go to Lhasa from Chengdu transit. Lhasa Gonggar Airport has 40 more flights to/from major domestic cities including Beijing, Chamdo, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dazhou, Diqing, Fuzhou, Golmud, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Hangzhou, Kangding, Kunming, Lanzhou etc. 

By Train: Taking the train, is a fabulous new option, giving the opportunity to see hitherto unseen mountain scenery. With the operation of Tibet Railway from July 1st, 2006, more and more visitors have swarmed into the land via train. Lhasa Railway Station has only one railway, also known as legendary Tin Road - Qinghai - Tibet Railway. It stops along the way Golmud, Xining, Lanzhou, Xi'an, Zhengzhou and other sites. The railway can reach Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai,Chongqing,Wuhan,Changsha and other places. Lhasa railway station is located in the southwest of Lhasa, about 8 km from the city center.
By Bus:Taking the bus along one of five highways that have been opened-up for visitors' use. This will take longer but will enable you to see the amazing scenery en route. Furthermore, taking extra time allows for a more gradual acclimatization to the altitude.

Lhasa Travel Tips

Shopping in Lhasa: Tibet has many arts and crafts products full of local flavor and national style, all kinds of Tibetan traditional handicraft products such as wooden bowl, bamboo bowl; and also imitations made in batch processing by Nepal, India and other countries businessman, such as various kinds of bone carving animals. Tourists can buy a lot of goods in Tibet, the famous are like Thangka, Tibetan knife, Tibetan mask, as well as Tibetan medicine and tonic, cordyceps sinensis, saffron, tricholoma matsutake, and so on.

Festivals in Lhasa: There are many festivals in Tibet Autonomous Region. From the beginning to the end of the year, there are over twenty festivals of a year. The festivals are the period for people to get together, dancing and singing. Traditional festivals mostly have relationship with religion, and now the festivals also celebrated for folk-custom and entertainment. The most famous Tibet Festivals are Tibetan New Year, Butter Lamp Festival, Great Prayer Festival, Saga Dawa, Shoton Festival, Horse Racing Festival, Bathing Festival, Onkor/Harvest Festival and so on. 

Lhasa Tourism: There are many archaeological sites in Lhasa, Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka is listed as world cultural heritage. The main tourist attractions are Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery and Ramoche Monastery, etc. The main commercial districts are Barkor Street, Yutuo Road and Lhasa Department Store. And there are geothermal hot springs around the land that have economic value and medical treatment, like Duilong Deqing county Qusang hot springs, Maizhokunggar county Dezhong hot springs.
Lhasa Shopping                                       Lhasa Dining                                        Lhasa Nightlife

Lhasa Hotels                                            Lhasa Maps                                          Lhasa Travel Tips

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