Shigatse is a famous cultural city with a history of more than 500 years. Some 3,800 meters above sea level, it has been a place in which Panchen Erdini Lamas of various historical stages were authenticated. Later it has become a political and religious center in rear Tibet. To its south stands the world-known Mt. Qomolangma (Mt. Everest). Around the city there are the Sakya, Palkor and Shalu Monasteries.

Trashilhunpo Monastery
At the foot of the Nyima Mountain on the outskirts of Xigaze, the monastery was built in 1447 under the supervision of the First Dalai Lama Gedun Tsuba, one of the disciples of Tsonggaba. It was expanded by the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Panchen Lamas and has become the place of the reincarnation of the Panchen Lamas. The monastery houses a 22.4-meter-high gilded bronze statue of Qiangba Buddha, the tallest of its kind in the world. The image of the Buddha is kind, generous and vivid.

Palkor Monastery
Located at the western end of the Changge Range in Gyangtse County, it was built in 1414. Its 17 Dratsang (colleges) belong to three sects of Sagya, Kadam and Gelug and gathered all religious sects, a salient feature of the monastery. By the monastery stands the resplendent Palkor Pagoda. This nine-story pagoda is 32.5 meters high and has 108 doors. Its 77 Buddha halls house some 100,000 statues of Buddha. So the pagoda is also famous as the “100,000-Buddha Pagoda.”

Mt.Qomolangma (Mt. Everest)
Located in bordering areas with Nepal in Tingri County, it is 8,848.13 meters high, the tallest mountain in the world. In the area of 5,000 square kilometers around the mountain, there are four peaks being more than 8,000 meters high and 38 peaks being more than 7,000 meters high. At the foot of Mt. Qomulangma or 40 kilometers away stands the Rombuk Monastery, with the highest elevation in the world. The monastery has become a camp for mountaineers on the northern side of Mt. Qomolangma. On the northern slope of the peak there are 217 glaciers with the Rombuk Glacier being the largest one.