Built in 1444, the monastery is the largest one of Gelukschool of Tibetan Buddhism in eastern Tibet.
Tibet saw a record influx of 740,000 tourists during the National Day holiday, said the regional tourism bureau on Wednesday.
The economy in Tibet is concentrated on agriculture, Tibetan medicine, utilities and, of course, tourism, which has exploded in recent times.
Tourism authorities have been working to make Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region a major destination, a senior tourism official said Friday.
With a history of more than 2,000 years, Tibetan medicine is similar to traditional Chinese medicine in that it experiments with a variety of herbs to create cures.
Wearing a brand-new Tibetan robe and grasping prayer beads, Kunga Samdrup was excited embarking on his first pilgrimage into Tibet via train.
Ma Xinming and his wife, Sun Lingling, both alumni of China's prestigious Peking University, have served in the Aid-Tibet program since 2010.
Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, received a record number of 1.4 million tourists during this year's Shoton Festival that ended on Sunday.
A chamber of tourism was established in Lhasa of Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region on Sunday to help enhance the region's tourism industry.
To safeguard the more than 1,000 forms of intangible culture heritage found in the Tibet autonomous region, local authorities conducted a comprehensive survey to record many aspects of the local culture, some of which have almost disappeared.
Centuries-old ethnic crafts continue to thrive in Qamdo county's Karma town in the Tibet autonomous region.
The Chinese government's efforts to preserve intangible heritage in Tibet and other ethnic regions have proven effective, said sources at the first Tibet development forum Wednesday.