Lhasa's mix of sacred and profane is intoxicating for most visitors.

Lhasa's old Tibetan quarter is the city's most interesting area, the Jokhang Temple it's most revered centrepiece, while the Barkhor retains a medieval character with its juniper smoke-filled temples, cobbled alleyways and prostrating pilgrims.

Unrelenting expansion by the Han Chinese is changing the personality of this ancient city at an alarming rate, meanwhile the Dalai Lama's spiritual seat of power lies poignantly empty at the majestic Potala Palace, Tibet's greatest treasure.