Photo shows the Barkor Commercial Building at Barkor Street in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/China Tibet Online] 

The Barkor Street has a history of more than 1,400 years and came into being following the development of the Jokhang Temple. There are 29 cultural relics and 56 ancient courtyards on the street. It is a polygonal region divided into four parts: north, south, east and west.

The Barkor Street is a melting pot of many different ethnic groups, embodying the openness and inclusiveness of Lhasa. The landmark Jokhang Temple is a mix of various architectural styles, including Tibetan, Han in the Tang Dynasty(618-907), Nepalese and Indian, and has become a model for Tibetan religious architectures. The bulk of the residents living on the street are Tibetans but there are also some other ethnic groups, such as Han, Hui and others.

The Barkor Street still retains the original style of the ancient city of Lhasa. It is made from hand-polished stones with traditional Tibetan buildings on each side. There is a giant incense burner in the middle that burns continuously day and night. On each side of the street, there are more than 120 arts and crafts shops with more than 1,300 businessmen and more than 8,000 different products. This includes daily necessities such as kadian (Tibetan people's favorite cushion), pulu (a kind of Tibetan woolen cushion), saddlery and flint; handicrafts such as Thangka, Tibetan rugs and other handicrafts. There are also goods from India, Nepal and Myanmar.