Posted 2019/1/16
Lhasa, literally means “"place of the gods", and has a history stretching back more than 1,300 years. Before the 7th Century, the place was called “Womatang” and was only a grazing land administrated by a small Tibetan tribe. In 633, the great leader, Sontzen Gampo, unified the whole of the Tibetan Plateau and moved its political center from Southern mountain to Lhasa where he founded the powerful Tubo Kingdom and also built Jokhang and Ramoche Temples, as well as the grand Potala Palace. At that time, the city of Lhasa was still named Rasa, which means "goat's place". Along with the introduction and subsequent flourishing of Buddhism, more and more people came on pilgrimages. Accordingly, an annular Barkhor Street was formed with the gradual construction of hotels, shops, restaurants, government offices and private residences surrounding Jokhang Temple. From then on, the place was regarded as the holiest center in Tibet and the name-Lhasa- was acquired, which means the “holy land” or the “place of gods”.
In the middle of 13th Century, Cai Ba, who was one of the tribal leaders of Tibet, built the Caiba and Gongtang Temples on the east side of Lhasa city. Hereafter, successive tribal leaders organized people to dredge the river and reinforce the riverbank. In the middle period of 14th Century, a series of Buddhist temples were constructed, including the Ganden Monastery, Salad Monastery and Drepung Monastery, which further strengthened Lhasa's revered position at the very centre of religious development.
In the middle of the 17th Century, the fifth Dalai Lama, Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682), was conferred with titles of nobility by the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Lhasa re-established itself at the forefront of Tibetan life, and saw rapid developments during this period. Many famous temples were refurbished and enlarged at this time: For example, the reconstruction of the Potala Palace on Red Hill began in 1645 and was completed in 1648; the Potrang Marpo (Red Palace) was added between 1690 and 1694; and the Jokhang Temple was also greatly expanded around this time.
In the first half of the 20th Century, many Western explorers made famous journeys to Lhasa, including Francis Young husband, Alexandra David-Néel and Heinrich Harrer. Since1951, Lhasa has been administrated under the political auspices of the People’s Republic of China. This has seen the beginning of a new chapter in Lhasa's long history.
