Chakpori Hill

Chakpori Hill,also called Hill of Medicine King,Yao Wang Shan,situated just to the right of the noted Potala Palace,which is 3725 meters (12, 221 feet) above sea level.Ascending the winding path to the top,you will find this is an ideal location to view a panorama of the ancient city and its surrounding landscapes,also take pictures of the Potala Palace.In the early morning of Chinese holiday or peak travelling season,the Chakpori Hill will be extremely crowd with photographers to shoot a rare view of the Potala Palace irradiated by the first rays of the sun.

The Hill's highlight is the Ten-Thousand Buddhas Wall where quite a few figures of Buddha, gods in different poses, and Buddhist scripture in Tibetan characters are engraved on the cliff.On the southeast of the mountainside, there is an extremely well preserved grotto which has a history of over 1,000 years. With an area of over 27 square meters and in the shape of unequal rectangle, this grotto has 69 vivid and lifelike stone statues engraved on the rock, representing the soul of the Tibetan stone inscription art. 

Lengend said that during the middle of 17th century, a temple was erected on the top of the mountain.Within this temple was placed a sapphire figure of a certain Tibetan Medicine King,it is said that the king was the avatar incarnation of Sakyamuni, who was able to treat patients of any kind of diseases. Besides, during the period of the fifth Dalai Lama (1642-1682), lamas were brought to this temple from all over the country to systematically study and coordinate the knowledge of traditional Tibetan medicine. Later, this temple became the Tibetan Medicine Bureau. In late 17th century, Desi Sangye Gyatso established the Tibetan Medical School on this hill.