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　　One thousand five hundred years ago Lhasa was known as Otang, which means, "plain flowing with milk," because of its rich pasture, good for grazing sheep and cattle. One day, a young man clad in a tunic rode up. Delighted by the clear water in the river, he stopped his followers and took a dip. He was Songtsen Gampo. Although then only 15 years old, he had just quenched a revolt by the nobles. He had come to this land, which once belonged to the Supi tribe his father had conquered earlier, and was impressed by the magnificent Red Hill rising straight up from the center of the plain. When one of his followers told him that his forefather, Lhathotho Rinyatsen, had once retired to the hill to cultivate himself, he climbed up to the top and looked out over a mountain-ringed plain expansive enough for the stationing of tens of thousands of troops. He decided it was a strategic point for both defense and attack and an ideal place for building up the Turfan Empire.

　　Songtsen Gampo soon moved his capital, including his royal family, ministers and officials, army and people, from Gyamarminjuling to Otang.In 641,Songtsen Gampo,then 25,married Princess Wen Cheng,a lineal descendant of the Tang emperor, and built the Potala Palace for her on Red Hill. Later he constructed the Jokhang Monastery at the request of the Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti Devi, another of his royal consorts. The site of the monastery, selected by Princess Wen Cheng, was lake Ogco. Around the lake, sheds and shanties were erected to house the construction workers. Eventually the site became Barkhor Street in Lhasa. Goats were used to carry earth to fill up the lake. "Rasa" as the monastery was popularly known, means "goat" and "earth".

　　The Rasa Monastery soon became the Otang people's central place of worship, for it enshrined the gilded image of Sakyamuni brought from Chang's an by Princess Wen Cheng. It also served as the venue for important rites held by the Tang court. In the course of time, the original name of the place was forgotten, and it became known simply as Rasa, which was gradually changed into Lhasa.

　　Lhasa is known to Tibetan as the " Land of Buddhism". It is sacred because of the figures of Songtsen Gampo and his two royal consorts and the figures of Sakyamuni brought from Chang' an and Nepal. In addition, there are also the Potala Palace, the Norbulingka, the Jokhang and Ramcho monasteries and Ganden, Sera and Drepung monasteries. Devout Buddhists come to Lhasa from every corner of Tibet to pray. They prostrate themselves on the ground with each step, even if it means they might die from exhaustion during the long pilgrimage.

　　But the land of Buddhism is by no means a pure land. The image of the Europe of the Middle Ages lingered in Lhasa up to the late 1950s. There were filthy slums west of the Jokhang Monastery, homeless dogs and their droppings on Barkor Street, cries of "Please have mercy, officer" from beggar with gouged eyes or severed limbs, inscrutable monks, haughty bureaucrats and oppressed people. Only in the early 1960s did the citizens of Lhasa begin to feel happy and relaxed, and only in the 1980s did new construction give the city a modern air an overall appearance that leaves visitors with a snug feeling.