Shigatse Attraction

Shigase is one of the most attractive tourist cities in western Tibet. It is the region’s second largest city and the only county-level city within Tibet. Located at the confluence of the Nianchuhe and Brahmaputra Rivers, the city lies around 273 kilometers to the west of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital at an elevation of 3,800 meters.

Today, this ancient city with its unique local culture is an important tourist attraction on the route from Lhasa to the west of Tibet and Mount Everest. The pride of Shigatse, Mount Everest is a place where man can challenge his limitations, while the city itself is a great place to explore the ancient and mysterious culture of Tibet. Shigatse has many other attractions for tourists to the city, the most popular of which is the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. There is a local saying in the region that one has never seen Shigatse if he has never visited Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

The traditional seat of Tibet’s second highest incarnation, the Panchen Lama, Tashi Lhunpo was the cultural and political center of the U-Tsang kingdom, and is the center of Buddhism in western Tibet. Built in 1447, Tashi Lhunpo lies in the northwest of the city, and its shining golden roofs and red walls signify the holy atmosphere of the monastery. The monastery houses one of the most famous statues of Buddha, the Maitreya Buddha. The largest statue of a sitting Buddha in Tibet, the Maitreya statue is made of copper and encrusted with hundreds of precious gems.

The monastery is also the site of one of the biggest Thangka unveilings in the world, where the giant portrait of Buddha is unfurled on the hillside behind the monastery, and thousands of people gather to view the Thangka and pray at its feet. The festival is held every year in May of the western calendar, and is well worth the trip to see its awesome Thangka paintings.

The city is one of the most beautiful in Tibet, and many of the houses are built in the traditional Tibetan style of architecture. Most Tibetan houses are white, and Shigatse is no exception, although many of the houses are decorated in the front with paintings of scenes and characters from the Buddhist scriptures that are meant to prevent evil from entering. Prayer flags are also hung from the roofs of many of the houses.

Shigatse has many other attractions that make it popular with tourists, including the Sakya Monastery, which is some way outside the city, in an isolated location on the road to Old Tingri, the gateway to Everest. The monastery is more than a thousand years old, and is known as the “Second Dunhuang” in China for the huge number of delicate and exquisite murals that are housed inside.