Below the dzong, the old Tibetan quarter of Gyantse survives largely intact — a network of narrow lanes, whitewashed houses, and small shops selling hardware, chang (barley beer), and dried yak meat. It is one of the few town centres in Tibet that retains a genuinely Tibetan character rather than having been overbuilt with Chinese-style development.
Walking the back streets in the morning, when residents are going about their day and the monastery bells carry on the wind, gives a sense of what Gyantse must have felt like as a prosperous wool-trading town on the route to India. The architecture is low-rise and functional, with flat roofs and small courtyard gardens.
The market street near the south gate is the most active commercial zone and has a few tea houses serving butter tea and tsampa (roasted barley flour). Sit down and try both if you have not already — they are the staple of Tibetan daily life.