Yutuo Road

Nine hundred meters between two landmarks

Yutuo Road is in Chengguan District, Lhasa, running from the Lhasa Department Store intersection in the west to the Jokhang Temple square in the east, a total length of more than 920 meters. It links the Potala Palace area with the Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Street, so you can walk from one to the other; it became a pedestrian street in 2002 and received landscaping improvements in 2025, with tree pits, crabapple, roses and evergreen shrubs added along the road.

The road was built in 1965 and was first called Renmin Road; it was Lhasa's first asphalt road. In the 1970s and 1980s, the city's first department store, first Xinhua Bookstore and first hotel were all on this road. The name and the businesses have changed, but its role as a modern commercial street has not.

Its division of labor with Barkhor Street is clear: Barkhor is a kora route and old-town commercial street, while Yutuo Road is a street converted into a pedestrian zone, with a level surface and large shopfronts, suited to rolling luggage, shopping and walking between the two sights.

Department stores, outdoor gear and street-side shops

The Lhasa Department Store at the western end is the anchor of the street. After renovation in 2025, the north building concentrates outdoor sports counters, with jackets, hiking boots, ice axes and down jackets classified for plateau hiking and snow-mountain climbing; the south building has cosmetics, tea drinks, Tibetan clothing, bedding and restaurants. It is not a traditional department store but more a general mall for local residents and visitors.

The street is dominated by sports and outdoor shops, clothing, hotels, specialty products and restaurants. Lhasa is the starting point for routes to Namtso, Nyingchi and elsewhere, and many people top up windproof jackets, fleece, hiking shoes and sun protection here; there are also shops selling plateau specialties such as cordyceps and dried yak beef. Brands and shops change, so do not set out to find a particular shop from an old guidebook.

Compared with Barkhor, Yutuo Road leans more toward modern retail and outdoor function, with a higher proportion of malls and brand stores; compared with Chongsakhan, it lacks the local-life atmosphere of a food market. For Tibetan carpets, thangkas and prayer beads, Barkhor is more concentrated; for a shell jacket you can take onto a mountain, Yutuo Road has more choice.

After the 2025 landscaping work, raised tree pits and flower beds line both sides of the street, planted with crabapple, roses and other flowers and shrubs; at night the streetlights and shop signs come on, and the street looks different from daytime.

How to walk it and when to come

Enter from the west side of the Jokhang Temple square and walk to the Lhasa Department Store intersection in about 15 to 20 minutes; walking and looking into shops for gear takes 1 to 2 hours. If you are going to the Potala Palace, you can use it as a passage between the two, without making a special trip.

Malls and shops keep different hours; the department store is usually open from daytime to early evening, while street restaurants and tea shops stay open later. If unsure, plan for daytime.

Ultraviolet light is strong on the plateau and there is little shade on the street, so use sun protection in summer and expect strong winds in winter; there are seats and tree pits along the street where you can rest briefly when tired, but do not sit in shop doorways and block business. When the pedestrian street is busy, do not stop in the middle of the road to take photos.

Choose outdoor gear according to your itinerary: a windproof jacket, hat and sun protection for daytime in the city and at Namtso are not in the same class as down jackets, hard shells and hiking boots for high-altitude trekking; if unsure, ask staff about the intended use rather than looking only at the brand.