Lingkhor

The Lingkhor (Chinese: 外廓) is a sacred path, the most common name of the outer pilgrim circumambulation path in Lhasa, matching its inner twin, the Barkhor. In its heyday, the Lingkhor was about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) long, enclosing Old Lhasa, the Potala and Chokpori Hill. In former times, it was crowded with men and women circumambulating clock-wise, sometimes by means of full-body prostrations. Pilgrims often approached the holy city for the first time by this route which passed through willow-shaded parks where Tibetans used to picnic in summer and watch open-air operas on festival days.

The path led past the Potala to a pond

Beginning in the 1980s, Lhasa's urban sprawl and reconstruction have obliterated much of the Lingkhor, but one relatively pristine stretch still remains west of Chokpori Hill; here, a bridge about 1 km west of the Potala Palace on the main road with green buildings beyond is the landmark. The Lingkhor stretches left before the bridge between walls and willow trees. After making a turn to the right, it peters out at a duck pond. Open-air Tibetan operas are still performed within earshot of the pond on festival days, one of which falls in June each year.