The Jokhang Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple located at the center of Lhasa. Built in 7th century during the heyday of Tubo kingdom, it was said to be built for enshrining the Jowo Sakyamuni figure aged 8. The figure was brought by Nepal Princess Tritsun from Katmandu, who was to marry Songtsen Gampo. The temple was expanded later and occupies an area of over 25100 square meters today.

Four-storied high, the temple is a combination of Han, Tibetan and Nepalese architectural techniques, with the golden roof and vault featuring typical Han style, the watchtower and carved beams in Tibetan patterns and 103 lined wodden crouching animals and human-faced lions under the second and third eaves of the main hall presenting Nepalease and Indian styles. The major halls in the temple are Sakyamuni Hall, the Hall of Master Tsongkapa, Songtsen Gampo Hall, Bandanlam Hall, Buddha Maitreya Hall and Tibetan King Hall. The Tibetan murals as long as 1000 meters in the temple are also worth seeing, depicting the procession of Princess Wencheng arriving in Tibet and the building of the Jokhang Temple. Two thangkas imaging Yamantaka and Chakrasamvara from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) still remain in perfect condition. The wooden carvings and murals are amazingly exquisite, with the fragrance of ghee filling in the air. Lots of precious cultural relics are also kept in the temple, providing rich materials for Tibetan research.

When overlooking the plaza from the golden top of Jokhang Temple, one will see the Potala Palace on the mountain on the right side, while the willows in near vicinity named “Princess Willow”, which as the legend goes, were planted by Princess Wencheng. In 2000, as the extended project of the Potala Palace, the temple was included into the list of the world cultural heritages.