Potala Palace is the symbol of Tibet, which is a must in you Tibet tour without doubt. Perched upon Marpo Ri Hill (Red Mountain) in the northwest of Lhasa City, Potala Palace is considered to be a architectural complex of palace, temple and tower. “Potala” is the Sansknt translation, referring to the residence of Kwan-yin Bodhisattva.
In 641, after marrying Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo decided to build a grand palace to accommodate here and let his descendants remember the event. However, the original palace was destroyed due to a lightening strike and succeeding warfare during Landama’s reign. In seventeenth century under the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Potala Palace was rebuilt. The thirteenth Dalai Lama expanded it to today’s scale.
The building measures 400 meters east-west and 350 meters north-south, with slopping stone walls averaging 3 m thick, and 5 m thick at the base and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. The building contains over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues. Potala is composed of White Palace and Red Palace. The former is for secular use while the later is for religious.
The monastery-like palace, reclining against and capping Red Hill, was the religious and political center of old Tibet and the winter palace of Dalai Lamas.
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The building measures 400 meters east-west and 350 meters north-south, with slopping stone walls averaging 3 m thick, and 5 m thick at the base and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. The building contains over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues. Potala is composed of White Palace and Red Palace. The former is for secular use while the later is for religious.
