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| Lhasa |
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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. |
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