Lhasa (city)

Lhasa ལྷ་ས་གྲོང་ཁྱེར། 拉萨市
Prefecture-level city
View of Lhasa from Potala Palace
Location of Lhasa prefecture-level city jurisdiction in the Tibet Autonomous Region
Coordinates (Lhasa prefectural government): 29°39′12″N 91°10′19″E / 29.6534°N 91.1719°E / 29.6534; 91.1719
Country	China
Autonomous region	Tibet
Municipal seat	Chengguan District
Government
• Type	Prefecture-level city
• Body	Lhasa Municipal People's Congress
• CCP Secretary	Purpu Tonchup
• Congress Chairman	Dawa
• Mayor	Go Khok
• CPPCC Chairman	Yuan Xunwang
Area
• Prefecture-level city	29,274 km2 (11,303 sq mi)
• Urban	53 km2 (20 sq mi)
Elevation	4,200 m (13,800 ft)
Population  (2020 Census)[1]
• Prefecture-level city	867,900
• Density	30/km2 (77/sq mi)
GDP[2]
• Total	CN¥ 74.2 billion US$ 11.5 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 85,000 US$ 13,100
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	891
ISO 3166 code	CN-XZ-01
Licence plate prefixes	藏A
Website	www.lasa.gov.cn/english/

Lhasa
"Lhasa" in Simplified Chinese characters (top), Traditional Chinese characters (middle), and Tibetan script (bottom)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	拉萨
Traditional Chinese	拉薩
Hanyu Pinyin	Lāsà
Literal meaning	(Tibetan) "Place of the Gods"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lāsà Bopomofo ㄌㄚ   ㄙㄚˋ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Lhasah Wade–Giles La1-sa4 IPA [lá.sâ]
Also known as
Simplified Chinese	逻些
Traditional Chinese	邏些
Hanyu Pinyin	Luóxiē
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Luóxiē Bopomofo ㄌㄨㄛˊ   ㄒㄧㄝ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Luoshie Wade–Giles Lo2-hsieh1 IPA [lwǒ.ɕjé]
Tibetan name
Tibetan	ལྷ་ས་
Transcriptions Wylie lha sa THL Lhasa Tibetan Pinyin Lhasa Lhasa IPA [l̥ásə] or [l̥ɜ́ːsə]

Lhasa^[a] is a prefecture-level city,^[b] one of the main administrative divisions of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It covers an area of 29,274 square kilometres (11,303 sq mi) of rugged and sparsely populated terrain. Its urban center is Lhasa, with around 300,000 residents, which mostly corresponds with the administrative Chengguan District, while its suburbs extend into Doilungdêqên District and Dagzê District. The consolidated prefecture-level city contains additional five, mostly rural, counties.

The city boundaries roughly correspond to the basin of the Lhasa River, a major tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. It lies on the Lhasa terrane, the last unit of crust to accrete to the Eurasian plate before the continent of India collided with Asia about 50 million years ago and pushed up the Himalayas. The terrain is high, contains a complex pattern of faults and is tectonically active. The temperature is generally warm in summer and rises above freezing on sunny days in winter. Most of the rain falls in summer. The upland areas and northern grasslands are used for grazing yaks, sheep and goats, while the river valleys support agriculture with crops such as barley, wheat and vegetables. Wildlife is not abundant, but includes the rare snow leopard and black-necked crane. Mining has caused some environmental problems.

The 2000 census gave a total population of 474,490, of whom 387,124 were ethnic Tibetans. The Han Chinese population at the time was mainly concentrated in urban areas. The prefecture-level city is traversed by two major highways and by the Qinghai–Tibet railway, which terminates in the city of Lhasa. In the future, the Sichuan–Tibet railway currently under construction will expect to start operations in 2030.^[5] Two large dams on the Lhasa River deliver hydroelectric power, as do many smaller dams and the Yangbajain Geothermal Field [zh]. The population is well-served by primary schools and basic medical facilities, although more advanced facilities are lacking. Tibetan Buddhism and monastic life have been dominant aspects of the local culture since the 7th century. Most of the monasteries were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but since then many have been restored and serve as tourist attractions.

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