Located in the centre of old Lhasa city, the Johkang Monastery is a prime seat of the Gelugpa (Yellow) of the Tibetan Buddhism. It was first built in 647AD. In 643AD, eighteen-year-old Princess Wencheng in Tang Dynasty reached Lhasa. She brought with her a life-sized statue of Sakyamuni at the age of 12. It was believed that the statue was modeled according to the appearance of Sakyamuni and was consecrated by Sakyamuni himself. There were three life-sized statues of Sakyamuni in the world. One is eight years old, another twelve years old and the last eighteen years old. Originally, the life-sized statue of Sakyamuni aged 16 was in India, however, it sank into the Indian Ocean in the religious war. Thus, the life-sized statue of Sakyamuni aged 12 was the most precious one. Songtsen Gampo constructed the Ramoche Monastery for Princess Wencheng to house the statue, and he also built the Johkang Monastey for Nepalese Princess Khidzun. When the Princess Jicheng brought the statue of Sakyamuni from the Ramoche Monastery to the Jokhang Monastery, it became the worshiping centre. After years of expansion, the Jokhang Monastery has today’s scale.

The sacred image of Jowo Sakyamuni (also called Yishinorbu or The Wish-Fulfilling Gem) is the most venerated and beautiful image in all Tibet. Housed in the Jowo Lhakhang shrine (on the ground floor of the Jokhang), the statue is 1.5 meters tall, cast from precious metals, and decorated with glittering jewels. Traditionally believed to have been crafted during the Buddha's life by the celestial artist, Visvakaram with the guidance of the god Indra, the Jowo Sakyamuni statue originally belonged to the king of Magadha (Bengal, India) who gave it to Wencheng's father, the king of the Tang Empire in China.

The Jokhang is the most celebrated temple in Tibet. Because the temple is not controlled by a particular sect of Tibetan Buddhism it attracts adherents of all the sects as well as followers of Bon-Po, Tibet's indigenous religion. Every day throughout the year hundreds of pilgrims circumambulate each of these three circuits. Some pilgrims will cover the entire distance by prostrating every few feet, and others will walk slowly, chanting sacred mantras and spinning hand-held prayer wheels.