It may sound
mundane to talk about shopping in the midst
of Tibet's fantastic sights. However, there
are many odd, fascinating and beautiful things
to buy. Tibet's culture continues to produce
all sorts of objects for religious and other
uses. In the heart of Old Lhasa, the best marketplace
for curios is on and around the Barkhor. Small
shops carry colourful items like prayer flags,
fur hats, horse bells and bridles, broad leather
money-belts and copper teapots. The merchandise
in small open street stalls changes from day
to day. A curio seeker can find temple bells,
conch-sell trumpets, rosaries, prayer wheels,
amulets and a variety of jewelry make of turquoise
(at least Rmb 150 per string if old ) and silver.
Most of the small items such as prayer wheels,
bracelets, necklaces and others are made by
Tibetans in Nepal and India. A useful item is
a wooden tea cup, with or without a lining of
beaten silver.
Along the Barkhor Tibetan rugs
can be found hanging on display . Some of these
have more individuality and appeal than the
rugs are of wool and usually have soft colours;
newer rugs are usually of a wool mix and are
brighter. As you amble clockwise around the
Jokhang Temple you may be approached by Tibetan
pilgrim-traders eager to sell you their own
swords, inlaid knives, jewelry, Buddha figures
and who knows what else. In the Barkhor's shops
and stalls, and above all with individuals,
you can bargain. As a loose guideline, you might
get prices in shops down 20-25 per cent, but
from stalls and individuals you should get nearer
50 per cent of the stated price. Haggling is
a game that every Tibetan enjoys, and it should
be played with perseverance, patience and good
humour. The failure by tourists to haggle effectively
has had a dramatic effect on prices. In addition,
many popular items are becoming rare. However,
remember that too many souvenir ' cultural objects'
may invite confiscation by customs officials
when you leave the country.
A fair variety of Tibetan handicrafts
is on sale at the 'Selling Department for Tourist
Products' on Beijing Dong Lu. Those are fixed
priced.
Any visitor to Lhasa notices the
decorated tents, canopies and awnings that Tibetans
use for numerous outdoor purposes. These are
becoming a popular item for travelers to take
home. At the Lhasa Tent and Banner Factory skilled
artisan can copy and custom-make any design
they are shown. They can make one-by-two-meter
( three-by-six-foot) door curtains, awnings,
canopies, small family tents for picnics or
big ornate marquees for festivals or travelling
lamas, with bestiary applique decorations in
different colours. Prices vary greatly according
to the complexity of the decoration.
For everyday practical items,
there are four main department stores in New
Lhasa. The General Department Store is a cavernous,
L-shaped store at the west end of Yuthok Lu,
and the Nong Ken Ting Department Store is a
multi-story building ( with the Friendship Store
on its top floor) halfway along the south side
of the same street. The others are a large pale-green
building in a fork in the road 300 meters (
yards) east of the Holiday Inn, and a pale green
building two-thirds of the way to Sera Monastery
on the east side of Sera Lu. There stores and
several other medium-sized shops stock comfortable
cotton clothing, canteens, mugs, canned food,
writing paper, envelopes, soap, towels and toothpaste.
Toilet paper ( wei sheng Zhi) can be found in
most shops.
Lhasa's major bookshop, Xinhua,
on Yuthok Lu, is not impressive but it does
carry maps of Lhasa, posters, Tibetan primers,
Tibetan-Chinese dictionaries, and Chinese and
Tibetan paperback books. A bookshop with Tibetan
literature is located just north of the Barkhor,
west of the meat market.
