Shopping for Tibetan Carpets

Here is a list of carpet factories or showrooms I personally visited in Tibet, Oct. 2008. I’ve indicated where, if at all, the places were referenced by other books on Tibet.

In Lhasa:

1) Snow Leopard Industries. Address: East Zang Yi Yuan Road, #2; Lhasa, Tibet. Phone contacts: (08 91) 6333249 (h); (08 91) 632-1481 (showroom); (08 91) 6333249 (fax). Email: Snowleopardcarpet@yahoo.com. A small showroom of various carpets is right next to their gift shop and is next to the Snowland Restaurant near Barkhor square and the Jokhang Temple. The street address translates as East Tibet Hospital Road. Carpets can be ordered and would take approx. 4-6 months depending on size. Good prices. (Snow Leopard is mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide.)

2) Tibet Tamva Weaving Company, Ltd. Address: Nam Village, Chusul Country, Tibet. Phone contacts: 13989908681 (manager’s cell); (0891) 6160001 (office); (0891) 6160002 (fax). Email: tanvarugs@yahoo.com. Website: www.toranahouse.com. This is where the manufacturing of Torana House rugs in Beijing and Shanghai takes place. The carpets here are of high quality and in both traditional and new designs. The weaving is done in the village of Nam, located between the airport and Lhasa, and when I visited the general manager Norbu Tsering told me Tamva had just opened a showroom downtown opposite the Dropenling Handicrafts Development Center (Center's address: 11 Chak Tsal Gang Road; see website http://www.tibetcraft.com/.) The Torana website has more information about their carpet weaving in Tibet. Expensive, but worth it. (Tamva is mentioned in both the Lhasa Immersion Guide and Lonely Planet Tibet guide.)

3) Potala Carpet Co. Ltd. Address: near Drepung Monastery (call for exact directions). Phone contacts: (08 91) 6866463 (showroom); (0891) 6860622 (fax); (0086) 13638998205 (mobile for Ye She manager). Website: www.potalacarpet.com. Email: potala@public.ls.xz.cn. This outfit has a showroom and one-room “factory) more of less side by side. The showroom has a large number of rugs, but during October holiday week those designs I considered more interesting were not available, though they could be ordered. Prices were in between Snow Leopard Industries and Torana. Photos are allowed in weaving portion of factory, not in showroom.

(Weaving at the Potala Carpet Co., Ltd.)

4) Tibet Baoyuan Manual Rug Confluence. Address: #131 Jinzhu West Road, Lhasa. Phone contacts: (0086 0891) 6876286 (office & fax). Website: www.xzbycarpet.com. Email: tibetbaoyuan@gmail.com. This is a Chinese company selling yak wool, Tibetan sheep wool, silk and other carpets woven in Tibet. The prices were the highest I’d seen in Tibet, but they also had the most inventory. That said, most designs were the same as you’d find in Beijing or Shanghai or any other carpet store in China.

*5) Khawachen Carpet Factory. This place is mentioned in the Llasa Immersion Guide; I wasn't able to visit this place, and I really regret that. I've friends who have and they praise both vision of the company and the well-being of the workers. Their website outlines the company's mission. Website: www.innerasiarugs.com. In Beijing they've opened the Khawachen Tibetan Rugs store in the Solana Lifestyle Shopping Park, #3-2 (FA or BL?), phone #: 86-10-5905 6311. Updated Llasa information is Address: 102 Jinzhu Xilu, phone #(0891)it is now 6863257 & 6861916, Cell# 13989009700.

In Shigatse:

6) Tibet Gang Gyen Carpet Factory. Address: 9 Zhufeng Lu. Telephone: 8822733. This place is mentioned in the Lonely Planet Tibet guide and is purportedly a joint-venture between the Tashilhunpo Monastery and a French outfit, with half the profits going to the monastery. It has a big showroom and opposite the showroom are smaller rooms where workers weave the carpets. At the time of our visit there was a large busload of Western tourists visiting the showroom. No pictures are allowed in the showroom.

In Gyantse:
7) Gyantse Carpet Factory. Address: #3 North Road, Gyantse, Tibet. (They have another address on their brochure: #2 Laze, Chenguan Town, Gyantse, Tibet.) Phone contacts: (0892) 817 2004 (office); (0892) 817 2492 (factory); (0086) 13628922136 (mobile for manager Bian Duo). This is a small and charming outfit lying in the old town of Gyantse close to the foot of the Dzong. Most of the carpets were smaller sizes (3x5, 4x6) at the time of our visit, but prices were reasonable and, as always, one could always place an order. In the compound one could see the carding, spinning, and dying of the wool in addition to weaving. Their brochure has additional contact information, as follows: No. 2 Laze, Chenguan Town, Gyangtse County, Tibet. Telephone: (0892) 8172004, 891, 9965. Fax: (0892) 8175883.

(gate to Gyantse Carpet Factory)

(showroom of Gyantse Carpet Factory)