"I don't have to worry about food or shelter as our life becomes better and better, so I offer prayers with my friends, and it feels good," she said.

For Shalo and 14 relatives and friends, who come from Gansu province, a chance to visit Lhasa and pray in Jokhang Temple is worth the arduous journey.

"We spent a day on the bus to get to Lanzhou, before taking a train for Lhasa. Although I was nearly exhausted, I feel satisfied now that I'm finally in Jokhang Temple fulfilling a long-held wish," he said.

Tsogyldorje arrived in Lhasa from Burang county with his family and prayed to the Sakyamuni Buddha in the Jokhang Temple after waiting for three hours in line. After praying, he could not find his 8-year-old son, Ngwangtsepel.

"I noticed a police station near the square outside the temple, so I asked them for help," he said.

Although police officers found the child within an hour, they're straining under the burden of dealing with so many visitors.

"Since the beginning of the winter the number of pilgrims has increased rapidly, and that has kept us very busy. We have to be on duty 24 hours a day to keep order and provide hot water, medicine, wheelchairs and fire extinguishers for prayers and visitors," said Zhu Jie, a police officer who helped search for the boy.

The sharp increase in the number of visitors has also put stress on the hotels and housing rentals. Statistics on Tuesday show there were 780 visitors in a community near Barkhor, a street near Jokhang Temple, while the number of the community's permanent residents was only 995.