1. The climate of the city is mild, without severely cold winters or extremely hot summer. The average temperature is about 8 degree Celsius. Summer and autumn are the most comfortable time in Lhasa.
2. People get to Lhasa and get away from Lhasa is by air or by bus. They will be able to take train to Lhasa very soon. It is convenient for tourists to get to Tibet by air. Lhasa Gonggar Airport is 97 kilometers away from Lhasa City. It takes about 2 hours to get to downtown Lhasa by bus and the fare is 20 Yuan.
Getting around Lhasa is better to take mini-bus. That is the cheapest wayand the fare is 2 Yuan no matter how far you go.
3. Regarding food, besides Tibetan diet, all styles of cooking including Chinese, Indian, Nepalese and western food can all be enjoyed here. Tibetan diet, Sichuan cuisine, northwest wheaten food, northeast cuisine is most typical. Featured restaurants are Yak Cafe in Lhasa Hotel, Xueshegong Restaurant (Snow Deity Palace) (Tel: 0891-9003803), etc.
4. Lhasa has many special local products. They are Tibetan Thangka, Tibetan silver ornaments, yak wool, Dzi bead, aweto, milk products, Tibetan liquor and Lhasa sweet tea as well as various handicrafts and Tibetan medicines. The famous shopping places are Barkhor Street Bazaar, Big shops beside the Jokhang Temple Square, etc.
5. Bank of China, Construction Bank and Agriculture Bank set their branches in Lhasa. Agriculture Bank has the most banking outlets and branches of the Construction Bank of China have been connected with a network. There's a branch of Construction Bank at the west junction of the square of the Potala Palace. The ATM has been hooked up to the network and you can draw cashes with credit cards there.
The office hours of the bank are from 9:00 to 12:00 am and 15:00 to 18:00 pm. If you withdraw money with credit cards, you'd better avoid Saturdays and Sundays.
Place for converting foreign currencies: 33 East Jinzhu Road Post code: 850000 |
