Travel to China .

Destination: Lhasa
Service Provided: Potala Palace, Jolkhang Temple and Barkhor Street
Meals: Breakfast, and Chinese Lunch

--the Potala Palace: It was first built in the 7th century, for the wedding of the Tibetan king Songtsan Gompo and Princess Wencheng of the Tang Empire. Since it was completed, the palace has been expanded many times. In 1645, the 5th Dalai Lama was appointed by the government of the Qing Dynasty as the local temporal and religious leader of Tibet, and the palace was reconstructed. In 1653, the 5th Dalai Lama moved from Drepung Monastery to the palace. Thus the Potala Palace became the political center of Tibet.
The Potala Palace's halls include worship and pagoda halls, the North Square, the South Square and the Dragon King Pond. The Main Building has 13 floors, with a height of some 110 m and a width of about 360 m. It is surrounded by eight temples, where there are tens of thousands of Buddhist statues. In the Buddhist Practice Cave are preserved the paintings of Songtsan Gompo and Wencheng made in the 7th century. Pagodas in the pagoda halls for each Dalai Lama are well built, in particular, the pagoda for the 5th Dalai Lama, which has a gold covering and is decorated with valuable jewels. Another important building is Qingsha, where the ministers for Tibetan affairs of the Qing Dynasty presided over the inauguration of the Dalai Lamas.
--the Jokhang Monastery: It was first built in 647, located in the center of Lhasa City. The Jokhang Monastery is Tibet's oldest wood-and-stone building in existence. With a total area of 25,100 sq. m, the monastery consists of temples and scripture halls. The main Buddhist Hall has four stories, and the gilded copper statue of Sakyamuni brought by Princess Wencheng is still worshipped in its own hall. In front of the monastery stands a monument to the establishment of alliance relations between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet, and the willow tree planted by Princess Wencheng, They are historical evidence of over 1,000 years of friendship between the Han and Tibetan peoples. On the front of the monument is inscribed the history of the monument in both the Chinese and Tibetan languages, and the process and significance of the establishment of the alliance.
--Barkhor Street: Barkhor Street is a trading site as well as religious center. As the oldest street in Lhasa, Barkhor is circular and still remains quite traditional. The street is narrow and lined with stalls or shops on each side. Goods for sale are typical reflections of Tibetan culture. From morning to evening, streams of people throng in to purchase whatever they need.
Barkhor is a marketplace where shaggy nomads, traders, robed monks and chanting pilgrims are together, mixing in shops and stalls. On sale are printed scriptures, cloth prayer flags and other religious items, jewelry, Tibetan knives, and ancient coins, and more. Barkhor is also the sacred pilgrimage site. It is a place where Tibetan culture, economy, religion and arts assemble. It was said that in the seventh century Songtsen Gampo, the first Tibetan King who unified Tibet, chose the site to marry Chinese Princess Wencheng and Nepal Princess Tritsun. Barkhor is the road pilgrims tramped out around the Jokhang Temple through the centuries. Buddhist pilgrims walk by body-lengths along the street clockwise every day into deep night. Careful visitors may find there are four columns on which colorful scripture streamers are hung flying over the street. All pilgrims walk outside of them to show respect.