Lhasa | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

(2000 est. pop. 400,000). Presently capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China and historically the capital of the Tibetan state, Lhasa is situated in the central Tibetan province of U on the Kyushu River at a height of 3,650 meters, with a population of about 200,000 for the central city and 400,000 for the whole municipality.

The name Lha-sa (pronounced Ha-sa) in Tibetan means divine ground, and Lhasa has always combined a religious and a political role. There are two mainphases in its existence. Lhasa was established as the capital by the first Buddhist king, Songtsen Gampo (609?–649), in the seventh century CE to house the sacred image of Buddha, or Jowo. Using geomancy, it was determined that the heart of Tibet, where the image should be kept, was in an island on a lake on the site of today's Lhasa. After subduing the local demon of the lake, a temple was built for the statue and called the Jokhang (House of the Lord Buddha). The Jokhang is to this day Lhasa's holiest shrine. The next phase was in the seventeenth century, when Lhasa was reestablished as the capital of the Dalai Lamas. The Potala Palace was built on the Marpo-Ri, or Red Hill, as the center for the joint religious and secular government of Tibet.

Around the Jokhang is the Barkhor, or circumambulation path, along which pilgrims walk or prostrate themselves. The Norbulingka, summer palace of the Dalai Lamas, lies to the west. Other sites include the ancient Ramoche temple. The historic monasteries of Ganden, Drepung, and Sera, headquarters of the dominant Yellow Hat sect of the Dalai Lamas, are close to Lhasa and have wielded enormous influence over the town.

Since Chinese rule, modern Lhasa has expanded, dwarfing the Tibetan area, large parts of which have been knocked down. Lhasa suffered during the Tibetan uprising in 1959 and was extensively damaged during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. In the 1980s, the Chinese started restoration work, and a Chinese city expanded in the area to house the administration and business. Today, the Tibet Heritage Fund has helped to preserve some areas of historic Lhasa around the Barkhor.

Modern Lhasa has been described variously as drab, featureless, or like a bustling frontier town. Under the Chinese plan of modernizing Tibet and developing its economy, small-scale manufacturing, beer brewing, and now the Internet have come to the city. Lhasa's importance as a pilgrim center for Tibetans and as a tourist spot has allowed it to preserve some of its main features, while the Chinese plan for Tibet has created a completely new city. China has ambitious plans for Lhasa as part of its policy of developing the western regions of the People's Republic, including building the world's highest railroad linking Lhasa to the nearest railhead in Qinghai Province.

Michael Kowalewski

Batchelor, Stephen. (1987) The Tibet Guide. London: Wisdom.

Chandra Das, Sarat. ([1902] 1970) Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet. Reprint ed. New Delhi, India: Manjusri.

Dowman, Keith. (1999) Power Places of Central Tibet. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Larsen, Knud, and Amund Sinding-Larsen. (2001) The Lhasa Atlas. London: Serindia.

Richardson, Hugh. (1994) Ceremonies of the Lhasa Year. London: Serindia.

This complete Lhasa contains 536 words. This article contains 775 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).