Shopping
in Tibet
Barkhor is the best shopping market in Lhasa. Tourist can find lots of odd and
fascinating stuff, for religious and secular uses. Small shops and stalls on
the street sell a variety of items like prayers flags, Buddha figures, conch-shell
trumpets, rosaries, amulets, fur hats, horse bells, bridles, copper teapots,
wooden bowl, inlaid knives and jewelry inlaid with turquoise and other gems.
However, attention shall be paid to the quality of the jewelry since many items
are coarse.
Exotic Tibetan opera masks and costumes are interesting items to buy. Bright
and beautiful homespun Tibetan rugs and Tibetan khaddar are also popular souvenirs.
Tourists can easily find things which are of individuality and appeal to them.
The most interesting thing to shop in Barkhor is that you can bargain with local
people and may buy nice things in a lower price. Just cut the price by 50 percent!
Shopping along the street accompanied by hundreds of pilgrims prostrating will
be a thrilling experience. Tibet carpet and tent can be bought at Lhasa Carpet
Factory and Lhasa Tent and Banner Factory respectively.
Department stores, mostly on Yuthok Lu and for everyday requirement, are becoming
usual in Lhasa. Lhasa Department Store (General Department Store), on the west
end of Yuthok Lu, is the largest and famous one in Lhasa. It sells handicrafts
as well as practical items, such as cotton clothing, mugs, canned food, towels
and toothpaste and other stuff tourist may need to buy before they move to other
remote towns. Supermarkets can also be found in Lhasa.
There are three Xinhua book stores in Lhasa, one on Yuthok Lu, another on east
Barkhor and the other on Beijing Zhong Lu, west of Tibet Hotel. They sell maps
of Lhasa, Tibetan primers, Tibetan-Chinese dictionaries, and Chinese and Tibetan
books. A bookshop carrying Tibetan literature is on north Barkhor.
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Nights
Lhasa - 8 Days
