Day-by-day Itinerary
Many Tibetan people have the typical reddish sunburnt, windswept cheeks caused by long-term exposure to the sun at high altitude.
Tibetan painting is called thangka, which means rolled-up image.
It is a highly complex form of religious art.
Day 1
Upon your arrival at Gonggar airport, you will be met by your local guide and transferred to the hotel in Lhasa city (2-hour drive), and you will view the Stone Giant Buddha engraved in the mountain face en route. After checking in the hotel, rest in the afternoon to get adapted to the high altitude.
* Lhasa: the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region with an elevation of 3650 meters (12,000 feet) above the sea level, nicknamed Sunlight City, it is the highest city in the world. This ancient sprawling city, settled 1,300 years ago, is the region's political, economic and cultural center as well as a sacred place of Tibetan Buddhism.
Day 2
Your sightseeing today will include the Lhasa's cardinal landmark -- Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and flourishing Barkhor Street.
* Potala Palace: the symbol of Lhasa, perched upon Marpo Ri Hill, 130 meters above the LhasaValley, it is the greatest monumental structure in Tibet and one of the most famous architectural works of the world. The construction of it was started in 641 AD and was rebuilt by the Fifth Dalai Lama in three years, while the Thirteenth Dalai Lama extended and repaired it into what it is now. As the religious and political centre of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas, the palace witnessed the life of the Dalai Lamas and the important political and religious activities in the past centuries. PotalaPalace also houses great amounts of rare cultural relics including the gold hand-written Buddhist scriptures, valuable gifts from the Chinese emperors and a lot of priceless antiques.
* Jokhang Temple: located in the center of the old section of Lhasa, built in 647 AD by Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign wives, and later extended by successive rulers, it has now become a gigantic architectural complex and it is the spiritual center of Tibet.
* Barkhor Street: a circular street around the JokhangTemple in the center of the old section of Lhasa, it is the oldest street in a very traditional style in Tibet, where you can enjoy bargaining with the local Tibetan vendors for the handicrafts which are rare to be seen elsewhere in the world. Barkhor Street is one of the most important religious paths along which pilgrims walk around JokhangTemple while turning prayer wheels in their hands through centuries. Buddhist pilgrims walk or progress by body-lengths along the street clockwise every day into deep night.
