Facts of Lhasa, Capital of Tibet

July,28 2016 BY Master Catherine Jigme 0 COMMENTS

Lhasa is a hot tourist destination popular among both Chinese and overseas tourists. Let's overview the facts of Lhasa, capital of Tibet. Lhasa has a good name of "Sunlight City" or "Sun City" for its annual sunlight is above 3000 hours.

As the beautiful capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region, Lhasa is situated in the South Central part of the region, on the North bank of the Kyichu River (Lhasa River) in a mountain-fringed valley. And it has long been the center of politics, economy, culture and religion in Tibet. This ancient sprawling city covers 30,000 square kilometers, with a population of 400,000, of which 87 percent are Tibetans. Other nationalities, such as Han, Hui, Menba, Luoba, Sherpa, etc. also live harmoniously in the city.

Lhasa features a cold steppe climate. Due to its very high altitude, Lhasa has a cool, dry climate with frosty winters. Lhasa has an annual precipitation of 426 millimeters with rain falling mainly in July, August and September. The rainy season is widely regarded the "best" of the year as rains come mostly at night and Lhasa is sunny during the daytime.

The following are the details of rainfall, max temperature and min temperature in each month.

Month	MaxTemp℉(℃)	MinTemp℉(℃)	Rain in (mm)	Relative Humidity (%)	Wind Speed 0.1m/s
Jan	6.8 (44.24)	-102 (-151.6)	0 (0)	28	22
Feb	9.2 (48.56)	-3.9 (24.98)	0.39 (10)	26	25
Mar	12.0 (53.6)	-3.2 (26.24)	0 (0)	29	26
Apr	15.7 (60.26)	-0.9 (30.38)	0 (0)	35	26
May	19.7 (67.46)	5.1 (41.18)	0.08 (2)	43	25
Jun	22.5 (72.5)	9.2 (48.56)	4013 (105)	54	22
Jul	21.7 (71.06)	9.9 (49.82)	5.04 (128)	65	17
Aug	20.7 (69.26)	9.4 (48.92)	5.90 (150)	69	16
Sep	19.6 (67.28)	7.6 (45.68)	4.33 (110)	65	17
Oct	16.4 (61.52)	1.4 (34.52)	0.24 (6)	50	18
Nov	11.6 (52.88)	-5.0 (23)	0.08 (2)	38	19
Dec	7.7 (45.86)	-9.1 (15.62)	0 (0)	35	18

The period from March to October is the best time to visit Tibet. Since Lhasa is located at such a high altitude it is wise to be prepared before starting your journey. Due to the large temperature differences during any given day in Tibet, warm clothes should be taken to keep away the cold. However, because it also receives a great deal of sunshine, sunglasses, suntan oil, and a sun hat are indispensable items if you're traveling in Lhasa.

At present, there are three ways of travelling to Tibet, by plane, by road and by train. You can take the plane is a comfortable and timesaving way, but offers little time for you to acclimatize to the altitude. But this may cause sickness. Lhasa's Gonggar Airport is 97 kilometers away from Lhasa City. It takes about 2 hours to get to downtown Lhasa by bus.

Taking the train is a fabulous new option, giving the opportunity to see hitherto unseen mountain scenery. With the operation of Tibet Railway from July 1st, 2006, more and more tourist has swarmed into Tibet via the great Tibet train.

However, if you are a foreigner and want to make a Tibet tour, you should apply for a special Tibet permit first through a Tibet travel agency and hire a tour guide every day when travelling in Tibet.

About the Author - Master Catherine Jigme

With exceptional passion and outstanding leadership, Mrs. Catherine has dedicated herself to Tibet inbound tourism and China tour for 15 years. As one of the handful females who see great potential of Chinese inbound tourism, Catherine has made great contribution to promoting Tibet tourism and enhancing the employment of Tibetans and prosperity of local Tibetan community.

Over the years, she travelled overseas with Tibet Tourism Bureau many times to promote Tibet tourism. Currently, Catherine works as the marketing director of Tibet Vista, an opinion leader behind the whole team of Tibet Vista.

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