Built in 1771, the Putuo Zongcheng Temple is a most resplendent and sweeping one. It covers an area of 220,000 square meters, and the word Putuo Zongcheng is the Chinese Translation for Potala Palace in Tibet, the ritual ground for Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. This temple was built in great similarity to Potala Palace in Lhasa of Tibet in architectural style. That's the reason it is called the lesser Potala.
This temple was built for celebrating the emperor Qianlong's birthday. Minority heads from Xinjiang, Qinghai, etc gathered in the Mountain Resort for the grand celebration on the 60th birthday of Emperor Qianlong & the 80th birthday of the Dowager Empress. A square architecture named Big Red Platform is the principal part, on which there are three halls.
The tops of the halls are covered with the copper gold tiles, thus a very precious monument. This temple was used to hold important religion ceremonies and for the emperors to interview the heads of the Minorities and some ministers in the past.