Barkhor 八廓街

About Barkhor

Its eastern, southern, western and northern sections still combine religious movement with the commercial life of old Lhasa. The visit is about following that relationship: look at the temple-facing spaces, then the shops and older street fronts beyond them. Walk clockwise with the pilgrimage flow and allow people making prostrations room to continue their practice.

The street originated in the seventh century, after Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng led a migration to Lhasa and built the Jokhang; Buddhist pilgrims circling the temple gradually wore a path that became the Barkhor, whose ring road runs about 1,000 meters in circumference. It forms the middle of Lhasa's three pilgrimage circuits, between the inner circuit inside the Jokhang, called Nangkuo (囊廓), and the outer circuit around the old city, including the Potala, called Lingkhor (林廓). Tibetans call the Barkhor the 'holy road', since the Tibetan word for circuit, 'kor', gives the street its name.

The older Chinese name 'Baijiao Jie' (八角街, 'Eight-Corner Street') arose because exchange between Tibetan and Han areas was then led through Sichuan, where 'jiao' (角) is pronounced 'guo' in the local dialect, producing that transliteration. The name is now rendered in Mandarin as 'Baguo Jie' (八廓街), though a closer transliteration would be 'Pargor' (帕廓): 'par' meaning middle and 'kor' meaning to circumambulate.

What to look for

• The four connected Barkhor streets, which together form the pilgrimage circuit around the Jokhang.
• The overlap of devotional activity, trading streets and preserved old-town façades around the temple.

The surrounding area

Palaces, monasteries, museums and a working old city with a strong tea-house culture.

Location & getting there

Getting to Barkhor

Begin at Barkhor Square on the west side of the Jokhang. From there, follow the circuit clockwise through the northern, eastern and southern streets before returning west.

• Leave space for pilgrims and ask before photographing people at close range; the circuit is an active religious route.