Shopping in Tibet
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Tibet Gang Gyen Carpet Factory
This Tibetan–French joint venture hires and trains impoverished women to weave high-quality 100% Tibetan wool carpets. You can watch carpets being made on the premises and the factory will ship internationally. The entrance is just east of the Gang Gyan Shigatse Orchard Hotel.
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photographic shops
It is still a good idea to bring your own film supplies, but these days most flavours of memory card, camera batteries and print film are relatively easy to find in Lhasa (although bring your own slide film). A profusion of photographic shops to the east of the Potala Square offer digital prints from around Y1 per print.
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Blind Massage Centre
Braille Without Borders. This worthy enterprise, set up by the Braille Without Borders organisation, offers hour-long traditional massages (around Y80) by blind therapists. The centre is in a courtyard, down an alley across from the Tashi I Restaurant. Call in advance. Ask at the Kyichu Hotel if you can't find it.
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Outlook Outdoor Equipment
The best of many local shops selling Chinese-made Gore-Tex jackets, fleeces, sleeping bags, stoves, tents and mats, and it also rents out equipment.
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Norling Supermarket
The old town has a couple of Tibetan-run Nepali supermarkets selling everything from imported muesli and chocolate spread to Indian spices and peanut butter, though at prices higher than in Nepal. The Norling Supermarket , near the Muslim quarter, has one of the widest selections.
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Baiyi Supermarket
Lhasa's glittering new supermarkets now offer a staggering range of imported goods, from frozen squid to ripe pineapples, alongside a bewildering array of dried yak meat. Baiyi Supermarket , next to Lhasa Department Store, boasts Lhasa's best range of foodstuffs.
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Dropenling
Wander through the Tibetan old town to this excellent new initiative established by the Tibet Artisans' Fund to support local handicrafts. Quality and prices are top end, and well worth a look as you can watch local craftspeople at work on site.
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Mani Thangka Arts
Opposite the Shangbala Hotel, Mani Thangka Arts features thangkas made with mineral paints by local artist Phurbu Tsering. Most of the other thangka shops are owned by Chinese traders who sell Nepali imports.
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Tromsikhang Market
The bazaar-style Tromsikhang Market area in the old town has the widest selection of dried fruits and nuts and is the place to buy such Tibetan specialties as tsampa (roasted-barley flour) and yak butter.
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Market
For self-catering there's a Market directly opposite the Restaurant of Zhuang Yuan selling veggies and meat, including roasted chicken (great to take for lunch on a long hike).
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Lhasa Department Store
Lhasa Department Store is a good one-stop shop for most supplies, especially clothes, though it's a little pricier than elsewhere.
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Toread Outdoor Sports
If you are headed off on a trek but totally unprepared you can pick up basic equipment such as tents, stoves and jackets here.
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Snow Leopard Carpet Industries
Next to the Snowland Restaurant, this place sells a collection of high-quality carpets and can arrange delivery abroad.
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Jin Long Supermarket
Jin Long Supermarket, on the ground floor of the defunct department store, has a small selection of goods.
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Dorje Antique Shop
For higher-quality items at higher prices, try shops like the Dorje Antique Shop, opposite the Yak Hotel.
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Kyichu Art Gallery
Kyichu Art Gallery in the Kyichu Hotel, has high-quality trinkets for high prices.
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Sifang Supermarket
Sifang Supermarket on the corner of Zhufeng Lu has a wide selection of goods.
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Hongyan Supermarket
Stock up on supplies at the Hongyan Supermarket.
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Sifang Supermarket
The closest supermarket to town.
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Xinhua Bookstore
Books.
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Lhasa Villages Handicrafts
A wander through the Tibetan old town leads to this excellent shop established to bolster local handicrafts in the face of rising Nepali and Chinese imports. Quality and prices are top end, and you can watch local craftspeople at work in the courtyard. The shop (formerly known as Dropenling) is a little tricky to find, but as you get nearer you'll see signs pointing the way. Ask about the two-hour walking tours of old-town craft workshops.
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