Potala Palace

The Potala Palace, which is now on the list of Chinese national key protected cultural relics, is the most valuable storehouse in Tibet. Potala Palace is famous for its grand buildings, complicated constructions, devotional atmosphere and splendid artworks. It was listed as the world cultural heritage in 1994.

Basic knowledge of the palace

• How tall and enormous
  Located on the Red Hill in Lhasa, Tibet, Potala Palace is 3,700 meters above sea level and covers an area of over 360,000 square meters, measuring 360 meters from east to west and 270 meters from south to north. The palace is 117 meters high, with 13 stories, considered as the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet.
  
• Historical knowledge
  The Potala Palace, winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century, symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional administration of Tibet.
  The Potala Palace was built in the seventh century and it has already had a long history of over 1300 years. In 641, Songtsan Gambo, ruler of the Tubo Kingdom, had the Potala Palace built for Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty, whom he was soon to marry. This structure was later burned to the ground during a war and was rebuilt in the 17th century by the Fifth Dalai Lama. Repeated repairs and expansions until 1645 finally brought the palace to its present scale. Over the past three centuries, the palace gradually became a place where the Dalai Lama lived and worked and a place for keeping the remains of successive Dalai Lama until 1959, when the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala after a failed uprising.
  
• Something about the name
  This name, "Potala" probably derives from Mt. Potala, the mythological mountain abode of the Bodhisattva Chenresi (Avilokiteshvara / Kuan Yin) in southern India. The Emperor Songtsen Gampo had been regarded as an incarnation of Chenresi. Given that he founded the Potala, it seems likely that the hilltop palace of Lhasa took on the name of the Indian sacred mountain.
  
• Numerous functions
  Fulfilling numerous functions, the Potala was first and foremost the residence of the Dalai Lama and his large staff. In addition, it was the seat of Tibetan government, where all ceremonies of state were held; it housed a school for religious training of monks and administrators; and it was one of Tibet's major pilgrimage destinations because of the tombs of past Dalai Lamas.

What to see

Grand architecture

The Potala Palace is an immense structure, its interior space being in excess of 130,000square meters. Potala Palace consists of over 1000 rooms, in which, there are tens of thousands of Buddha figures. Different in sizes and complex in designs, the figures look vivid and lovely.

The magnificent Potala Palace is made of wood and stone. All the walls are of granite, and all the roofs and windows are of wood. The overhanging eaves, the upturned roof corners, and the gilded brass tiles and gilded pillars inscribed with Buddhist scriptures, bottles, and makara fish as well as the gold-winged birds decorating the roof ridges contribute much to the beauty of the hip-and-gable roofs.

"Two palaces"

The Potala Palace contains over a 1000 rooms, mainly consisted of two parts, namely the "White Palace" and the "Red Palace". The lower and outer portions of the palace are known as the "White Palace" and served as the administrative and government offices. Rising above the center of the White Palace is the area known as the "Red Palace," which once served as the religious areas of the palace.

Red Palace

The first section, known as the upper "Red Palace" served a religious function, housing the living quarters of the Dalai Lama, the gold-plated tombs of eight previous Dalai Lamas, a library containing religious scriptures and numerous temples, chapels and shrines containing thousands of Buddhist sculptures.

• The Great West Hall
  The main central hall of the Red Palace is the Great West Hall which consists of four great chapels that proclaim the glory and power of the builder of the Potala, the Fifth Dalai Lama. The hall is noted for its fine murals reminiscent of Persian miniatures, depicting events in the fifth Dalai Lama's life. The famous scene of his visit to Emperor Shun Zhi in Beijing is located on the east wall outside the entrance. Special cloth from Bhutan wraps the Hall's numerous columns and pillars.
  
• The Fifth Dalai Lama's Chorten
  The Fifth Dalai Lama's mausoleum is in the west chapel and is 5-stories high. His enormous Chorten is gold-covered and inlaid with diamonds, pearls, turquoise, agate and coral. The whole structure stands 14 meters high.
  

White Palace

The second main section, known as the "White Palace" served a political function, incorporating the offices and living quarters of the Tibetan government, a seminary to train future government officials as well as a printing press.

The White Palace contains the living quarters of successive Dalai Lamas and their tutors. The offices of the old Tibetan government and their assembly halls are also located here. The original Potala was destroyed in the 9th century, during the breakdown of the Tubo Kingship era. It was rebuilt during the reign of the 5th Dalai Lama and completed in the late 17th century. It became known as the "Winter Palace" by the 1750's, when the 7th Dalai Lama built the Norbulingka Park, as his summer residence.

Ways of getting the top

1. By taxi from the back of the hill
   
2. Climbing up from the front path
   

Something to notice

• Taking photos inside the room also charges extra fee, the prices are clearly shown in the rooms.
• More rooms are available in hotels on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.