Lhasa Travel Guide

Tibet · China

About Lhasa

Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining and, at an altitude of 3,656 metres (11,990 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city has been the religious and administrative capital of Tibet since the mid-17th century. It contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka Palaces. According to the census, the total resident population of the city by the end of 2024 will be 876,400. == Toponymy == Lhasa literally translates to "place of gods" (ལྷ lha, god; ས sa, place) in the Tibetan language. Chengguan literally translates to "urban gateway" (Chinese: 城关; pinyin: Chéngguān) in the Chinese language. Ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa (ར་ས), which meant "goat's place", as it was a herding site. The name was changed to Lhasa, which means "place of gods", upon its establishment as the capital of Tibet, and construction of the Jokhang temple was completed, which housed a holy statue of the Buddha. Lhasa is first recorded as the name, referring to the area's temple of Jowo, in a treaty drawn up between China and Tibet in 822 C.E. In some old European maps, where Tibet is depicted, a town named Barantola can be found; this has been suggested to be Lhasa, though also thought to possibly refer to modern Bulantai/Boluntay in the western part of the Qinghai province.

Source: Wikipedia