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Gedun Choephel Artists' Guild
On the northeast corner of the Barkhor is the Gedun Choephel Artists' Guild, an exhibition hall for a dozen modern Tibetan artists. It's a rare opportunity to view Tibetan modern art free from religious convention (and there are good views from the roof!).
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Gesar Ling
On the north side of Parma Ri is the Gesar Ling, a Chinese construction that dates back to 1793 and was recently renovated. It is the only Chinese-style temple in Lhasa. The main yellow-walled temple has a statue of the mythical Tibetan warrior Gesar (associated with Guandi, the Chinese God of War) along with Guru Rinpoche on the left and Ekajati, the Dzogchen deity, on the right. A separate yellow chapel has a statue of an orange Jampelyang with Sakyamuni, Chana Dorje (Vajrapani) and Chenresig.
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Guru Rinpoche Shrine
Two Statues Of Guru Rinpoche And One Of King Trisong Detsen Are Next To The Stairs. Beside The Shrine Is A Rock Painting Of The Medicine Buddha Protected By A Glass Plate.
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Gyüme
The Gyüme, or Lower Tantric College, is across from the Kirey Hotel. It is easy to miss this working temple; look for an imposing entrance set back from the road. It's a surprisingly impressive place and little visited by foreigners.
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Jampa Lhakhang
If you head south from the Mani Lhakhang, after about 10m you will see the entrance to the Jampa Lhakhang on the right. The ground floor of this small temple has a two-storey statue of Miwang Jampa, the Future Buddha, flanked by rows of various protector gods and the meditation cave of the chapel's founder. Pilgrims ascend to the upper floor to be blessed with a sprinkling of holy water and the touch of a holy dorje (thunderbolt).
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Jokhang
The Jokhang, also known in Tibetan as the Tsuglhakhang, is the most revered religious structure in Tibet. Thick with the smell of yak butter, echoing with the murmur of mantras and bustling with awed pilgrims, the Jokhang is an unrivalled Tibetan experience. Don't miss it.
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Jokhang Temple
The 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple is the spiritual centre of Tibet. The waves of awestruck pilgrims prostrating themselves outside and the distinctive golden dome are mesmerising - planes could use the dome for navigation.Commemorating the marriage of the Tang princess Wencheng to King Songtsen Gampo, the temple was built atop a pool that the princess thought was a witch's heart.
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King Songtsen Gampo's meditation chamber
Passing the Chapel of Sakyamuni (Zegya Lhakhang), continue to the NW corner where you'll find a small corridor that leads to King Songtsen Gampo's meditation chamber , which, along with the Chapel of Arya Lokeshvara on the 3rd floor, is one of the oldest rooms in the Potala. The most important statue is of Songtsen Gampo himself, to the left of the pillar. To his left is his minister Tonmi Sambhota (said to have invented the Tibetan script) and to the right are his Chinese and Nepali wives.
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Kunde Ling
Several hundred metres west of Chagpo Ri, Parma Ri is a much smaller hill with a couple of interesting sights. At the foot of the hill, close to Beijing Zhonglu, is one of Lhasa's four former royal temples, Kunde Ling . The ling (royal) temples were appointed by the fifth Dalai Lama, and it was from one of them that regents of Tibet were generally appointed. There are only a couple of restored chapels open, but it's a friendly place and worth a visit.
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Lukhang
The Lukhang is a little-visited temple on a small island in a lake, behind the Potala. The lake is in the recently remodelled and very pleasant Zang Gyab Lukhang Park.
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Mani Lhakhang
As you follow the flow of pilgrims past sellers of religious photos, felt cowboy hats and electric blenders (for yak-butter tea!) along the Barkhor Circuit, you'll soon see a small building on the right, set off from the main path. This is the Mani Lhakhang, a small chapel that houses a huge prayer wheel set almost continuously in motion. To the right of the building is the grandiose entrance of the former city jail and dungeons, known as the Nangtse Shar.
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Meru Nyingba Monastery
Veer off the Barkhor Ciruit down the alley following the prayer wheels, then pass through a doorway into the old Meru Nyingba Monastery. This small but active monastery is a real delight and is invariably crowded with Tibetans thumbing prayer beads or lazily swinging prayer wheels and chanting under their breath. The chapel itself is administered by Nechung Monastery, which accounts for the images of the Nechung oracle inside.
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New Summer Palace
The New Summer Palace in the centre of the park was built by the present (14th) Dalai Lama between 1954 and 1956 and is the most interesting of the Norbulingka palaces. You can only enter the walled complex from its east side.
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Norbulingka
The Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas, is about 10 minutes' walk south of the Lhasa Hotel in the western part of town. It ranks well behind the other points of interest in and around Lhasa. The gardens are poorly tended and the palaces themselves are something of an anticlimax, since most rooms are closed to the public. Avoid the thoroughly depressing zoo.
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Palace of the Eigth Dalai Lama
This palace was used as a summer palace by the eighth Dalai Lama and by every succeeding Dalai Lama up to the 13th. Only the main audience hall is open; it features 65 hanging thangkas and some lovely painted furniture.
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Palha Lu-puk
After the Druthub Nunnery, head next door to the Palha Lu-puk, where stairs lead up to an atmospheric cave temple said to have been the 7th-century meditational retreat of King Songtsen Gampo.
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Pode Kangtsang
Die-hards can track down the hard-to-find Pode Kangtsang, in the south of the old town, with its old upper-floor murals and large thangkas . It's accessed from the south.
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Potala
Lhasa's cardinal landmark, the Potala is one of the great wonders of world architecture. As has been the case with centuries of pilgrims before you, the first sight of the fortress-like structure will be a magical moment that you will remember for a long time. It's hard to peel your eyes away from the place.
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Potala Kora
The pilgrim path that encircles the foot of the Potala makes for a nice walk before or after a visit to the main event. Recent renovations by the city authorities have largely secularised the walk, doing away with many of the stalls frequented by pilgrims, but there are still plenty of people here, especially in the mornings. From the western chörten (formerly the western gate to the city), follow the prayer wheels to the northwest corner, marked by three large chörtens.
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Potala Palace
What can one say about the magnificent and justifiably world-famous Potala Palace , once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas? You can't miss it - it's the one touching the sky. An architectural wonder even by modern standards, the palace rises 13 storeys from 130m-high Marpo Ri (Red Hill) and contains more than a thousand rooms.
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Ramoche
The Ramoche is the sister temple to the Jokhang, constructed around the same time as the Jokhang but in Chinese style. It was built to house the Jowo Sakyamuni image that is now in the Jokhang. The principal image in Ramoche is Mikyöba (Akshobhya), brought to Tibet in the 7th century as part of the dowry of King Songtsen Gampo's Nepali wife, Princess Bhrikuti. The image represents Sakyamuni at the age of eight years.
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Rigsum Lhakhang
The Rigsum Lhakhang is a small chapel hidden in a housing courtyard southwest of Barkhor Square. It's dedicated to the Rigsum Gonpo trinity of Jampelyang, Chenresig and Chana Dorje (Vajrapani). Look for the line of prayer wheels disappearing down the alley.
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Shide Tratsang
The badly ruined temple of Shide Tratsang is connected to Reting Monastery and was once one of the six principal temples encircling the Jokhang. It's in a housing courtyard, down a back alley near Tashi I restaurant, and remains a rare example of what Lhasa looked like before the renovation teams moved in.
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Shöl
Nestled at the southern foot of Marpo Ri, the former village of Shöl, (which means 'at the base of') was once Lhasa's red-light district, as well as the location of a prison, a printing press and some ancillary government buildings. Some of these buildings have been rebuilt, including an inn supposedly favoured by the sixth Dalai Lama and the residence of the monk police chief.
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Summer Palace of the 13th Dalai Lama
The Summer Palace of the 13th Dalai Lama is in the western section of the Norbulingka, northwest of the awful zoo.
