Culture-oriented Tour

There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 Muslim adherents. There is a Catholic church with 700 parishioners, which is located in the traditionally Catholic community of Yanjing in the east of the region. In addition to the above religions, there are also some folk religious sects which play important role in some remote areas in Tibet.

Lake Manasarovar means “the eternal jade-like Lake”in Tibetan language. It is a a holy lake to many religions in the world, and one of the most prestigious lakes in Asia and the whole world.

Namtso means“the lake of the sky” in Tibetan language. It is the third largest saltwater lake in China and the highest salt lake in the world.

Yamdrok means “Swan Lake”in Tibetan language. It is a low-concentration saltwater lake and an important habitat for birds such as swans, ospreys, and banyan.

Pilgrimage, in the sense of an extended journey to a sacred place, has long been central to Tibetan life. The pilgrim is known as a né korwa "one who circles a né", thus defining them by the ritual circumambulation(s) they perform as part of their journey. Pilgrims seek to generate merit by performing koras, which are a major merit generator. The more potent the power place destination the greater the merit.

Tsongkhapa founded the monastery of Ganden in 1409 as his main seat.

Drepung Monastery was founded by Jamyang Choje, Sera Monastery was founded by Chöje Shakya Yeshe and the Gyalwa Gendün Drup founded Tashi Lhunpo Monastery. Before the Chinese occupation Ganden and Sera each had about 5,000 monks, while Drepung housed over 7,000. The three monasteries are the "great three" Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet.

Tibetan traditional dwellings constitute varied forms, including the blockhouses in the southern Tibetan areas, the tents in the northern Tibetan pastoral areas, and the wooden buildings in the Yarlung Zangbo River valley. And in Ngari, there are cave dwellings. The history of Tibetan dwellings is very long, dating back to more than 4000 years ago during the Karuo Neolithic Age.The outstanding feature of the Tibetan dwellings is its religious structures. The buildings are often embellished with symbols of Tibetan Buddhism. For example, private homes often have Buddhist prayer flags flying from the rooftop.

The religious decorations make the Tibetan dwellings special. Below the windows are red, blue and white ribbons. On the rooftop, there are red, white, blue, yellow and green ribbons, representing fire, clouds, heaven, earth, and water respectively.