# Yaowangshan Cliff Carvings (药王山摩崖石刻)

Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region · Southwest, China · Guidebook rating: 4/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/yaowangshan-cliff-carvings
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** Free
- **Opening hours:** 7：00—19：00
- **Time needed:** 1–2 hours
- **Getting there:** Take a city bus and get off at Yaowangshan Vegetable Market stop (药王山菜市场站), or walk from the Potala Palace.
- **Good for:** History & Culture, Temples

## About Yaowangshan Cliff Carvings

Yaowang Hill (Yaowangshan) lies to the right of the Potala Palace and is one of the ideal spots for photographing the full view of the Potala. The cliffs on the back of the hill are carved with more than 5,000 Buddha images, large and small, the most in Tibet. There is a folk custom in Lhasa: if a poor family loses a relative and cannot afford a thangka for the funeral rites, they can buy some pigment and go to Yaowangshan to repaint the rock-carved Buddha images. This is said to bring the same merit as a funeral thangka of Buddha images.

## Tips from the guidebook

- 1. The mountain gate is hidden among residential buildings. Walk west along the main road in front of the Potala Palace and enter at the first clearly visible west-facing junction.
- 2. Watching sunrise and sunset from Yaowang Hill is excellent. Photographing the Potala Palace from Yaowang Hill gives the best angle.

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 530. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
Site: China Trip (https://cnatrip.com) — independent China travel guide in 13 languages.