Lhasa Tours - Barkhor Street

Barkhor Street is located at the old city of Lhasa. It is noted as the circumambulation around Jokhang Temple and also acted as the commercial center of Lhasa City. The ancient Tibetan style architectures and traditions are well preserved on Barkhor Street. It has been one of the must-go places in Lhasa for tourists take part in the Lhasa tours.

Lhasa Tours – History of Barkhor Street

Originally, Barkhor Street is just a circumambulation around Jokhang Temple, it developed rapidly with the increasing of pilgrims and tourists here. Now Barkhor Street is the most prosperous street in Lhasa. It has a history of more than 1300 years. In the 7th century B.C., Songtsen Gampo decided to construct the Jokhang Temple. After the construction of Jokhang Temple, numerous devout followers of Buddhism would come here for pilgrimage. 18 family style houses were built to supply accommodation for the pilgrimages and businessmen.

After 15th century, Jokhang Temple became the communication center of Tibetan Buddhism. Numerous dorms of Buddhists, religious schools and small monasteries were constructed around Jokhang Temple. A large number of followers of Tibetan Buddhism moved to Barkhor Street. With the strengthening of the statue of Jokhang Temple in the Buddhism, a large number of tourists would come here to make circumambulation around Jokhang Temple. Tourists could witness numerous devout pilgrims on Barkhor Street during the Lhasa tours.

Lhasa Tours – Makye-ame on Barkhor Street

During the Lhasa tours, tourists could make a visit to Makye-ame Teahouse on Barkhor Street. Most of the architectures on Barkhor Street are white, but Makye-ame Teahouse is a two-story yellow building on the southeast corner of the street. It is said that Makye-ame is the secret palace of the 6th Dalai Lama – Tsangyang Gyatso.

Spending some time in Makye-ame with a cup of tea, tourists would have the chance to listen to some interesting folk story, through which tourists could know more about the history and culture, as well as the daily life of the Tibetans during the Lhasa tours. In addition, the stylish murals, Thangkas and other Tibetan style decorations in the teahouse would also leave you a deep impression and make your Lhasa tour more unforgettable.