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Chapter
THE OLD CITY OF LHASA
REPORT FROM A CONSERVATION PROJECT (98-99)
1.1 Geographical Setting
The city of Lhasa is located in the southern part of the Tibetan high plateau at an
altitude of 3650m above sea level and on roughly the same longitude as Cairo. The valley
in which Lhasa is situated is formed by the river Kyichu, a tributary of the Tsangpo
(which is known as the Brahmaputra in India). The dominant peaks surrounding Lhasa range
between 4400m and 5300m above sea level. The city itself is built on a plain of marshy
grounds, dominated by the three hills, Marpori ("red mountain"), Chakpori
("iron mountain") and Barmari ("rabbit mountain"). The Lhasa valley is
sheltered from the harsh winds that roam much of the Tibetan plateau, and the city
benefits from a micro-climate that can be termed moderate. Recent maximum summer daytime
temperature was 28 degrees celsius, wintertime temperatures average
-15 degrees celsius at night. The air is extremely dry throughout most of the year except
during the summer rainy season (July-August). Lhasa has more than 300 days of sunshine a
year.
![click for larger image](small/1.1.1map.jpg)
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Satellite image of Lhasa in 1965 |
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1.2 Historical Setting
In the Lhasa valley, to the north of the city area near present-day Sera monastery, the
neolithic settlement of Chugong was excavated in the 1980s. Chugong dates back to about
1500 - 2000BC. Bronze and stone tools were found, leading to the assumption that the
Chugong people practised agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting.
Tibetan recorded history began in 127 BC when the first emperor Nyatri Tsenpo
(gNya'.khri.btsan.po) was crowned. During the first half of the 7th century AD, the 33rd
Tibetan king, Srongtsan Gampo created an empire that largely corresponds to the
present-day extension of the Tibetan cultural realm (incorporating Tibetan-speaking areas
in India, Nepal, and China's Sichuan, Qinghai and Yunnan provinces as well as the Tibetan
Autonomous Region itself). At that time, Tibetan society was presumably the culture of
nomadic warriors, somewhat comparable perhaps to the 11th century conquering Mongols.
These warriors were in constant territorial warfare with their
neighbours, China's Tang dynasty and the Uighur northern tribes, and at times even with
Persia. The Tibetan royal court moved regularly throughout the country, from summer camp
to winter camp.
![click for larger image](small/1.2.1photo.jpg) |
Central Lhasa ca.1940s, Potala Palace in background |
Far from the Yarlung valley where many Tibetan kings were customarily buried,
emperor Srongtsan founded Lhasa as Royal camp site in ca. 633. Originally the city had
been named Rasa, meaning simply "fortified city". Various factors contributed to
the establishment of Lhasa as semi-permanent royal capital. Two of the five queens of
Srongtsan fullfilled an ancient prophecy by bringing Buddhist images and ritual knowledge
to Tibet. Apart from Srongtsan's own palace (at the site where today the Potala Palace
stands), the capital of Rasa consisted of several Buddhist temples and shrines, the
queens' palaces, and presumably quarters for servants, labourers, warriors and merchants.
Several imperial strongholds are known to have existed in different parts of Tibet during
the flourishing of the empire period (7th-9th century). Lhasa remained important despite
subsequent kings having established their courts elsewhere because of the Rasa Trulnang
Temple (miraculous self-manifest temple of Rasa), later also called the Lhaden Tsuglakhang
(Lhasa Cathedral) or simply Jokhang (house of Jowo, precious image of Buddha). This temple
was founded in ca. 641 at the behest of princess Brikutri, the Nepali bride of king
Srongtsan. The Rasa Trulnang was closely modelled on Indian Buddhist temples that were
famous at that time, and was several times restored under Srongtsans successors on
the throne. Tibetan scholars name the 7th-8th century Vikramasila temple, which itself was
destroyed in the 12th century, as a model for the Trulnang. Many similarities in lay-out
and details also exist between the Trulnang and the Indian Nalanda monastery, and with the
Ajanta caves. The Jowo image that eventually came to be housed in the Trulnang temple,
said to have been cast during Buddha's life-time, was the bridal gift of princess
Wen-Cheng, Srongtsan's Chinese wife. Even as Lhasa's political
influence wained after Srongtsen's death, the Trulnang temple's importance was recognized
again and again during the following centuries, giving Rasa the status of a Holy City and
its new name Lhasa, the place of the gods.
![click for larger image](small/1.2.2%20building.jpg) |
Tsuglakhang, west elevation / main gate |
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1.3 Social Development
In the mid-9th century, the Tibetan empire fell, and the kingdom disintegrated into
independent fiefdoms and regional power centres. Lhasa no longer had much political
importance, but because of the Trulnang/Tsuglakhang temple, the city remained an important
destination for pilgrims and renowned Buddhist teachers. In the early 15th century, one of
Tibet's most important religious teachers and scholars, Je Tsongkhapa from Amdo, founded
the great monastic universities of Sera and Drepung on the outskirts of Lhasa. Lhasa soon
became an important seat of learning, attracting students from as far away as Mongolia who
studied Buddhist dialectics, astrology, medicine and calligraphy, and practiced debate and
meditation. Besides being a major cultural centre, Lhasa was still a major trading centre,
being the cross-point for trading caravans from Nepal, India, Ladakh and muslim Central
Asia. In the 17th century, the Tibetan regions become once more unified under the Fifth
Dalai Lama and his Mongol patrons. The Dalai Lamas were the reincarnated de-facto heads of
Tsongkapa's reformed Gelugpa ("virtuous") sect. The Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang
Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682), established a central Tibetan government named Ganden Podrang
("earthly palace representing Tushita heaven") and re-modelled Lhasa as his
capital. He was responsible for the building of the Potala Palace, and he extended the
Tsuglakhang temple to its present-day dimensions. In 1913, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama,
Thupten Gyatso (1876-1933), declared an end to China's status as suzerain (or patron) of
Tibet, and began the modernization of his mediaeval realm. Lhasa soon had a post office, a
hospital, a permanent British representative, and a small hydro-electric powerstation.
Despite setbacks, the modernization continued, and in 1947-48, the government employed the
Austrian engineer Peter Aufschnaiter to survey the city because of plans to improve power
supply and irrigation.
In 1950, Mao Zedong's People's Liberation Army crossed the boundaries established by
the 13th Dalai Lama between Kuomintang China and the Tibetan areas under administration of
the Ganden Podrang government. Lhasa decided to take up Beijing's offer to become an
Autonomous Region of the newly-established People's Republic of China, under the 1951
17-point agreement in which a high degree of autonomy for Tibet is stipulated. In 1959,
popular revolt against communist reforms led to several days of warfare in Lhasa, causing
much destruction and suffering. The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India and almost 40 years
later is still a guest of the Indian government. With most of the ancien regime having
also departed, communist reforms were fully implemented in Tibet. Property was
nationalized, and agricultural production radically re-organized under a commune system.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), monasteries were destroyed and Tibetan customs
and traditions branded as feudal and forbidden. Since the political reforms that began in
1978, Tibetan religion and customs have slowly become rehabilitated.
By the 1990s, the economic reforms that already transformed most of China had also reached
Lhasa, resulting in rapid modernisation of the city and a growing prosperity for many city
dwellers.
![click for larger image](small/1.3.1photo.jpg) |
![click for larger image](small/1.3.2photo.jpg) |
Barkokali, the old west gate of Lhasa |
The Barkokali today (rebuilt in 1995) |
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1.4 Lhasa's Uniqueness
Lhasa was perhaps old Tibet's only true city. Today, Lhasa is still the biggest urban
settlement in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and has retained its importance as a holy city
for the entire realm of Lamaist Buddhism. Lhasa also has been, and to some extent still
is, an extraordinary cultural centre, where traditional medicine, astrology, philosophy
and Buddhism could be studied in great institutions of learning.
The physical remains of the old city represent a living witness to history.
Lhasas buildings are a rare example of urban Tibetan architecture, and the old city
allows the visitor to view developments that originally took place over centuries by
simply taking a few steps.
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