Lhasa is not only the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, but also the center of Tibetan politics, economy, culture and religion. It is located on the North Band of the Lhasa River, which is a tributary of the Yarlong Tsangpo, and stands at 3760 meters above sea level. In Tibetan, Lhasa means "The land of the Gods", or "Holy Place". It was founded in 633 A.D. under the leadership of King Songtsan Gampo.

Lhasa enjoys delightful weather, throughout all seasons. It has 3000 hours of sunshine annually - hence its popular name "The Sunshine City". The temperatures vary greatly between night and day, but remain fairly uniform during the year. Winters are neither severely cold, nor Summers unbearably hot. The average annual rainfall is only 230--570 mm, and at least 2/3rds of the year are frost-free. The best time to visit Lhasa is from March to October. Lhasa is becoming a thriving and prosperous town, and many successful new business enterprises have been established. These include a hydro- electric power station, leather fanning plants, thermal power stations, cement works, an agricultural machinery plant, machine repair plant, food industry, a film dubbing studio, building industries, vehicle repair shops, grain and oil processing factories, hotels and guest houses for tourists and so on.

Cultural, educational and modern sanitation services and facilities are also being developed. As well as the Tibet University, Polytechnic schools, Hospitals, and cultural organizations have also opened. Lhasa is expanding and developing rapidly -- not least in terms of tourism. In the following chapters we will look at the most popular tourist attractions.