Lhasa
- Alternate meanings: Lhasa (computing) - Lhasa (musician)
Lhasa (pop. 200,000; Traditional Chinese: 拉薩, Simplified Chinese: 拉萨, Hanyu Pinyin: Lāsà) is the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, and was the historical capital of whole Tibet before 1950. Lhasa means "place of the Gods". Its altitude is approximately 3650 meters (12,000 ft) above sea level.
In the first half of the 20th century several western explorers made celebrated journeys to the city, including Francis Younghusband, Alexandra David-Néel and Heinrich Harrer.
There are today more Han Chinese than Tibetans in Lhasa, mostly a result of deliberate PRC government policies.
The Potala Palace, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; other important buildings are the Jokhang, the Norbulingka, Drepung monastery and Sera monastery.
A 1,080-km (670-mile) Qinghai-Tibet Railroad to Lhasa is currently under construction.
