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Do you want to do shopping in “the place of gods”? Then come to Lhasa. You will be excited to see so many fantastic local products and to experience a totally different shopping atmosphere. The most popular souvenirs may be Tibetan art works and Tibetan medicine. To purchase such things Bakuo Street, Yutuo Shopping Street and Lhasa Department Store are all good places to explore.
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Lying in the centre of Tibetan Plateau with surrounding mountains rising to 5,000 m, this city produces some unique fruits and vegetables that cannot be found in any other places all over the world. The largest vegetable market Zongjiaolukang Market located just beside the Potala Palace may be a good choice for you to have a taste of local food.
Local products
Tibetan Tangka
Tangka is a kind of scrolled painting with simple streaks, rich colours and strong religious fantasy, most of which demonstrate themes of Tibetan Buddhism. The pigments of Tangka come from opaque minerals and plants which are pro rata mixed with some animal gelatines and oxgall. Paintings made by such materials and gone through such procedures can be kept with bright colours for thousands of years.
Jewellery
Tibetan pearls, agates, jades and some gold and silver articles with distinctive local characteristics are popular with travellers. Some of these jewelleries are embedded strong religious aura, having special appeal to people home and abroad. You can appreciate and buy local jewelleries in Bakuo Antique Market and some tourist shops.
Wooden bowls
In Tibet, wooden bowls are mostly used to drink tea because of its heat-resistance, thus they are very practical articles in Tibetan peoples’ daily life. There are many kinds of wooden bowls, and the prices vary greatly. You can make a purchase according to your taste and finance.
Tibetan knives
With a long history of over 1600 years, Tibetan knives are traditional crafts with high popularity in Tibet. In daily life, Tibetans take them as personal belongings, using them for self-protection and to cut meat. Carved with exquisite images, they can also play the role of decoration.
Chinese caterpillar fungus
Chinese caterpillar fungi are the result of a parasitic relationship between the fungus and the larva of the ghost moth genusThitarodes. dong chong xia cao It is used as an aphrodisiac and treatment for ailments such as fatigue andcancer. means "winter worm, summer grass" (i.e., "worm in the winter, [turns to] plant in the summer"). The fungus germinates in living organisms (in some cases the larvae), kills and mummifies the insect, and then the fungus grows from the body of the insect.Its name in Chinese