United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are places listed by UNESCO for having cultural significance. As of 2016, the UNESCO Website lists 1031 sites around the world, three of which are found in Lhasa. A fourth one found in Amdo Tibet is Jiuzhaigou National Park which will be featured below soon.
Standing four stories tall, spread over an area of about 25,000 square meters in the heart of Lhasa, the UNESCO World Heritage Jokhang Temple (ཇོ་ཁང་།) with its golden roof is an esoteric blend of local Tibetan elements with Nepalese, Chinese, and Indian influences.
Lhasa (ལྷ་ས་) has been considered the capital of the Tibetan peoples since as early as the 7th century. After conquering several surrounding kingdoms and two significant political marriages with Chinese and Nepali princesses, Songtsan Gampo became the first leader of a unified Tibetan Empire. He began construction on a palace which formed the foundation and determined the design of the current Potala Palace. In 641, he built the Jokhang Temple to house a treasured gold statue of Siddartha Guattama dating back to the Buddha’s lifetime.
Located on the western edge of Lhasa at the bank of River Kyichu and just a kilometer from the famous Potala Palace, Norbulingka Palace (ནོར་བུ་གླིང་ག) offers the best landscapes in the region. Spread over an area of 360,000 square meters, Norbulingka features the summer palaces of the Dalai Lamas with 374 rooms, and the largest, most beautiful, and well-preserved gardens in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, one can find the famous Potala Palace( ཕོ་བྲང་པོ་ཏ་ལ། ). As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this remarkable set of buildings is visited by thousands of tourists daily.
