Many visitors to Tibet are most impressed by the strong contrasting colors of houses. Between November and December, an auspicious day will be picked to paint the walls – white for folk houses, dark yellow for altars, and dark red for monasteries, living Buddha’s residence, and government buildings. The basic colors of white, red, and black represent deities in heaven, earth and underground respectively.
Depending on the availability of materials, the Tibetan houses are built with more wood for those living near forests, or more stone for those living in the mountain areas. In the northern pasturing area, the nomadic people live in tents -- black yak fur tents in winter, and white cloth tents in summer.
In the southern valley area, castle-like houses cluster around the foot of mountains with small doors and windows, obviously for defense against wild animals and bandits. Mainly built of stone and wood, the two-or-three-storey structure boasts solidity and economic use of space.
Tibetan towns are mostly centered around the temples. The city of Lhasa serves as a perfect example. The white-walled dwellings, mainly built of stones cluster around the Jokhong Temple Monastery.
The first floor is used to shelter livestock and sundries; the second floor consists of living rooms, a kitchen, and a store room, while the third floor, if any, accommodates sutras and an altar. The flat roof serves to dry grain in sunlight.
Beams and pillars are used to divide the interior space. In measuring the room sizes, Tibetan people often refer to the number of pillars. A "one-pillar" room is about 15 square meters. Pillar plays such an important role in Tibetan houses that it is compared to the father of a family in the local proverb.