The Jokhang Temple claims one of the oldest buildings in tibet. It is the joint effort of the Han And Tibetan people. It said that when Princess Wen Cheng came to imspect the landform of Lhasa, she drew the conslusion hat the Wuotang Lake was the heart of the devil. It was them filled with the earth carried by white goats. To comemorate the white goats, the temple was named "Ruosha" meaning "goat carring earth" in Tibetan, Then the name developed into "Lhasa" meaning the holy land.
In the central hall on the first floor, there is a gold sitting statue of a 12-year old Sakyamuni, brought in by Princess Wen Cheng. It is one of the most precious antique in tbiet. In the temle, they also keep the portrays of Buddha in silk from the tang Dynasty, the pearl gown and gold lamp from the Ming Dynasty as well as the painting by the famous painters several hundreds of year ago. The stone Tablet of Unity between the tang Dynasty and Tubo kingdom with the inscriptions both in Chinese and Tibetan was erected in 823. It marks the riendship between the Chinese and Tibetans. The willow tree beside the Tablet, called Tang Willow, is said to be planted personally by Princess Wen Cheng and the Tubo King Srontsan Gamoi. There are 5 big coper pots for making tea for 5,000 people in the front of the temple. They are so big that when cleaning them, ladders have to be use. In 1409 Zongkaba, the founder of the Yellow Sect of tibetan Buddhism, originated the Geat Prayer Festival. The debate between the candida-tes for the degree of "Guoxi" was conducted among the Yellow Sect Buddhists. For more than 1,000 years, the Jokhang Temple remains to be the favourite spot for the worshippers from far and near.