Lhasa

us in front of Potala Palace
Originally uploaded by patrickdowd.

Lhasa is the holy capital of Tibet. Its original fame was in the 7th Century when Songtsen Gampo moved the capital here. In the 17th Century, it had a renaissance under the Fifth Dalai Lama. It is now the political capital of the TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region).
I was told the total population is about 600,000 with about 200,000 Tibetans. There is a distinct Tibetan neighborhood. Lhasa is at 3,683 meters which is over 11,000 feet. We spent lot of time acclimatizing and walking around neighborhoods.