Restoration of Lhasa?

Scanned photo of Potala Palace taken in 2000


Associated Press announced this week the completion of seven years of renovation work of the magnificent Potala Palace at a cost of some US$43.9 million.

This follows hard on the heels of renovations to Samye monastery (US$13.9 million) and the Nor Bu Linka (Dalai Lama´s Summer Palace).

"The repairs to the three key cultural relics is an important part in the conservation of the Tibetan culture," said Liu Yandong, a member of the Communist Party's Politburo, who attended the ceremony.

More than 189,000 workers were involved in these three projects.
Xinhua quoted a former director of the Potala's administration office saying the palace could now accommodate 1,000 visitors a day.

The renovations are part of a 570 million yuan ($73 million) plan to promote tourism to Tibet, a mainstay of the region's economy, and include the repair to 22 cultural sites.

All that´s missing now is His Holiness Dalai Lama!

Despite the numerous tourist bans imposed on foreigners since the run-in to last year´s Olympic Games in Beijing, the Chinese government know it´s onto a gold-mine. Foreign tourists might be banned intermittently, but Han Chinese tourists are increasingly visiting for a touch of Winter Wonderland.

Chinese tourists in Lhasa

I haven´t stepped foot in Lhasa since 2000, and it was already in bad shape. The old town was restricted to a few roads coming off the Jokhang temple and around the kora, the cement houses that are inhabited by Chinese swamped the surrounding area - the Tibetans were already a minority in their own capital city.

Earlier this year China tightened restrictions on advertising and construction outside the palace, following calls from the United Nations to better preserve the UNESCO World Heritage Site's natural setting.

With the rail link in place Han Chinese tourist makers are arriving from across the country. On more than one occasion i have heard it compared to Disneyland with karaoke and prostitutes.

I´d still like to go back there – even as just an interim stop back to Kailash. I might just have to wait for the train line to get there though!


Lhasa station. Up to Kailash? I wish!