Lhasa
In Tibetan, Lhasa means "The land of the Gods", or "Holy Place".It was founded in 633 A.D. under the leadership of King Songtsan Gampo. It is located on the North Band of the Lhasa River, which is a tributary of the Yar-long Tsangpo, and stands at 3760 metres above sealevel.

Lhasa is not only the capital city of the Tibet Autonomous Region, but also the centre of Tibetan politics, economy, culture and religion.Lhasa is becoming a thriving and prosperous town, and many successful new business enterprises have been established.

It has 3000 hours of sunshine annually -- hence its popular name "The Sunshine City".Winters are neither severly cold, nor Summers unbearably hot. The average annual rainfall is only 230--570mm, and at least 2/3rds of the year are frost-free.

The best time to visit Lhasa is from March to October.