Day 1
Arrive in Lhasa
For this most mystery and paradoxical land in China, you must hold more expectations than any other cities. After arrival at the airport ,the terrain you could see as you approach your hotel is special. Mountainous, any growth on these slopes has camouflaged colors of those grey or greens. Some distant peaks are snow capped and the odd turquoise lake is visible. Beautiful, but it looks to be such a hard land to live in. For the rest of day, please do not hurry to do any sightseeing at once. Instead of, you had better have a half-day rest to adjust yourselves to the altitude sickness for tomorrow's trip.
Day 2
Lhasa
Today you explore Potala Palace is your first stop today. It is the most magnificent architecture in Lhasa. After that, the guide will lead you to visit the Sera Monastery and the Norbulingka Park. If you like, you may visit a local family to feel the way of their life.
Potala Palace: Potala Palace in downtown Lhasa is a 41-hectare complex, which came under construction during Songtsan Gambo’s 7th-century reign. Consisting of White Palace and Red Palace, with nearly 10,000 rooms, it was where the Dalai Lamas lived and handled political affairs. Housed in this castle-like palace is wealth of Buddhist statues, murals, religious scriptures, and treasures. As a precious legacy of Tibetan culture, the Potala Palace is a UNESCO-endorsed world cultural heritage site.
Sera Monastery: The Sera Monastery at the foot of Tatipu Hill is located in the northern suburb of Lhasa City. It is one of three famous monasteries in Lhasa along with the Drepung Monastery and the Ganden Monastery. The Sera Monastery is dedicated to the Gelugpa or Yellow Hat Sect, a branch of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Tsong Khapa. Jamchen Chojey, one of Tsong Khapa’s disciples built the monastery in 1419 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The monastery was named Sera which means wild rose in the Tibetan language, because the hill behind it was covered with wild roses in bloom when the monastery was built.The monastery is magnificent and covers an area of 114,946 square meters (28 acres). Its main buildings are the Coqen Hall, Zhacang (college) and Kamcun (dormitory). Scriptures written in gold powder, fine statues, scent cloth and unparalleled murals can be found in these halls. Colorful debates on Buddhist doctrines are held here and these employ a style distinctive from those at Lhasa’s other famous monasteries.
Norbulingka Park: Lingka in Tibetan means a beautiful place with trees and lawns, and Norbu means treasure. In addition to its beautiful environment, Norbulingka boasts many palaces, pavilions, various kinds of flowers as well as a lake and a zoo. Norbulingka, meaning ’Treasure Park’ in Tibetan, is situated in the western suburb of Lhasa City, at the bank of the Kyichu River, about one km (about 0.6 mile) southwest of Potala Palace. The garden covers an area of 360,000 square meters (about 430,000 square yards), with 374 rooms inside. It is the biggest man-made garden in Tibet Autonomous Region. Construction began in the 1740s. The area used to be wasteland with wild animals, weeds and scrub which the Seventh Dalai Lama liked and often visited, and, as a result, the Qing magistrate had a palace built. Years later, Kelsang Potrang was built by order of the Seventh Dalai Lama. Later it was used as the Summer Palace for successive Lamas, where they solved the political problems and held festive celebrations. After a series of expansions and renovations, the appearance was improved with potrangs, pavilions, gardens and woods. It has now been turned into a park open to the public.
Day 3
Lhasa
Continue to explore the mysterious Lhasa. Today you will be accompanied to visit the Drepung Monastery, the Jokhang Temple, Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital and the Carpet Factory. Leisure stroll on the Barkhor Street.
Drepung Monastery: Founded in 1416, Drepung Monastery (Tibetan: Drepung Gompa; Chinese: Zhebang Si) on the outskirts of Lhasa was once Tibet’s largest and most influential monastery, with over 10,000 monks. Today, Drepung houses about 700 monks and attracts pilgrims and visitors from around the world. Drepung is especially known as the site of the annual Shoton Festival, with its dramatic unfurling of a giant thangka painting on the hillside. Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 by Tsongkapa’s disciple Jamyang Choeje. It was the home of the Dalai Lamas before the Potala Palace was built in the 17th century. Resembling a heap of white rice from a distance, it was dubbed "Monastery of the Collecting-Rice" (Drepung Gompa) in Tibetan.
Jokhang Temple: Jokhong Monastery, built in 647 as the earliest wood-masonry structure in Tibet, is dedicated to a statue of Sakyamuni. It is also in the possession of a collection of cultural relics dating back to the Tang, which include statues of Songtsan Gambo and Princess Wencheng. Tang architectural elements are palpable in this monastery, a splendid four-floor building facing west under a gilded rooftop.
Barkhor Street: Barkhor Street is located in the center of Lhasa’s old block where the original flavor of these Tibetan buildings and the locals’ life style is well-preserved. As the oldest street in Lhasa, the Barkhor Street is also the center where Tibetan economy, culture, arts and religion are assembled.
Day 4
Depart from lhasa
We are sure that you enjoy Lhasa's splendid culture and unique scenery and you can be our best ambassadors to share that experience with your families and friends. We sincerely hope to see you revisit Lhasa again with your friends.
