There are a few interesting legends surrounding the construction of Jokhang Monastery. The legend goes that Princess Wencheng, the wife of the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo, had the monastery built by filling up Lake Wothang with the help of a sacred goat. A willowthat stands outside the gate of the monastery is said to have been planted by Princess Wencheng and Songtsen Gampo themselves. The statutes of Songtsen Gampo, Princess Wencheng and Princess Chizun, another wife of the Tibetan King are enshrined in side halls. The Jokhang Monastery is an example of the earliest architecture in Tibet and can claim to be the center around which the city of Lhasa developed.
The Jokhang Monastery was built in 648 and was expanded to its present scale in the 17th century. It is located on Barkhor Street, in the city of Lhasa. It was built in the architecture typical of the Tang Dynasty and has Nepalese and Indian characteristics. Inside the main hall there are elegant relief sculptures of human beings, birds, and animals carved on the beams. A golden statue of the young Buddha Sakyamuni at age 12 brought to Tibet by Princess Wencheng from Chang'an, is enshrined in the center.
On November 30, 2000, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee listed the Jokhang Monastery on the World Heritage List as a part of the historical assemblage of the Potala Palace.
