Shigatse

Tibet's second-largest city, Shigatse, is the traditional capital of Tsang and home to the Tashilhunpo Monastery, Tibet's largest functioning monastic institution. The Tsang kings once ruled over the region from the fortress north of town. Most people spend only a day in Shigatse, visiting the monastery and wandering up and down the city's Walking Street, a tourist-friendly section of Qingdao Lu. The city is divided up into a traditional Tibetan quarter and brand-new Chinese town. Shigatse is quite pleasant, but you didn't travel all the way to Tibet to see another unremarkable city.