Lhasa Shopping

Lhasa is gathered with traditional Tibetan Handcrafts with ethnic flavor such as Thangka, gold and silver wares, Tibetan costumes, knife, prayer wheels and carpets. Tibet medicine is also famous and lots tourists like to buy saffron, aweto and snow lotus. Barkhor Street is the most famous commercial center in Lhasa where you can buy all kinds of souvenirs.

Tibet is the home of traditional carpet making and you can buy carpets and rugs at Snow Leopard Industries and Tanva Carpet Workshop. Barkhor Thangka Painting Department Store and Snowland Handmade Thangka Store are good places to buy Thangka. Many tourists want to buy a Tibet Knife but remember it can only be delivered home. Good Tibet medicine can be bought at the shops of Tibet Pharmaceutical Company and Lhasa Medicine Plant. All types of handicrafts, prayer wheels, and other items can be purchased from stalls around the Jokhang Temple and Barkhor square.

Thangka is a Tibetan silk painting with embroidery, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. The thankga is not a flat creation like an oil painting or acrylic painting. Rather, it consists of a picture panel which is painted or embroidered, over which a textile is mounted, and then over which is laid a cover, usually silk. Generally, thankgas last a very long time and retain much of their lustre, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture won't affect the quality of the silk. It is sometimes called a scroll-painting.

With the recent explosion of fascination with Tibet and Tibetan culture, Tibetan medicine is receiving greater attention from the public, scholars and the media. As with many aspects of Tibetan culture, significant and complex issues determine whether or not Tibetan medicine will continue to survive as a living tradition.

Many minority nationality people have a custom to wear a waist knife, so do the Tibetan people. It is an essential staff for all Tibetans. Usually, Tibetan wears a waist knife which is used to cut meat, as protection and also an accessory. It also has high art value as a form of ethnic handcraft with a longstanding good reputation at home and abroad. Tibet knifes that design for the use of men are usually rugged. On the other hand, those designs for the use of women are elegant.

Tibetan rug making is an ancient, traditional craft. Tibetan rugs are traditionally made from Tibetan highland sheep's wool, called changpel. Tibetans use rugs for many purposes ranging from flooring to wall hanging to horse saddles, though the most common use is as a seating carpet.

Barkhor Street is the famous commercial center of Tibet. Over 120 handicraft and artwork shops and 200 or so market stands in the Barkhor Street: it is a must-go place for all souvenir shopping. Tibetan rugs, knives, broadswords, traditional clothes, gold and silver jewelry and all sorts of traditional handmade craftwork can easily be found in this street.

The shopping environment is spacious and comfortable. Facilities are full equipped, including central heating, automatic cashier, elevator and so on. Also, prices are mostly moderate.

Tibetan ornaments seem naturally imbued with a mystical flavor. The main materials may include turquoise, yak bones, red and yellow corals, Tibetan silver and other natural elements. Features come together in a simple, unconstrained motif, and the brilliant colors and bold, wild designs instill high fashion. With little need for complicated craftsmanship, a wild, trendy bracelet or necklace can come into being simply by joining several natural stones, corals, and a yak-hide string.

Chong SaiKang is a age-old bazaar in Lhasa. Chong Saikang Bazaar reposes in the busy Lhasa city areas and it is at present the largest whole sale market for both small commodities.

Barkhor Thangka Art Gallery is the a lot of accepted and acclaimed boutique for affairs Thangka. And the a lot of beautiful, accurate and abounding Thangka can be begin in this store. It is actually a admirable abode for art betterment and body depuration.