The world famous Potala Palace is located on "Moburi (Red) Mountain", to the west of old Lhasa. The 13-story palace stands 117 metres high and has over 1,000 rooms. It covers an area of 130,000 square metres. The entire building is made of stone and wood, with walls averaging 3 metres thick.
Originally built by King Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century (in the 640's), Potala Palace was destroyed by lightning and war, it had been rebuilt by the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1645. Since then, Potala Palace has become the seat of Dalai Lamas and also the political center of Tibet. In 1994, the Potala Palace was declared the United Nations World Cultural Heritage site.
Upon entering the East Portal, visitors will come into the Deyang Shar courtyard where Dalai Lamas watched Tibetan opera. West of the courtyard is the White Palace. As the winter palace of Dalai Lamas, the White Palace is a seven-floor building originally built in 1645. The wall of the palace was painted to white to convey peace and quiet. In the middle of the Potala Palace the Red Palace exists.The Red Palace contains various chapels and mausoleums for previous Dalai Lamas. The 5th Dalai Lama's mausoleum is in the west part of the palace and is 5-storeys high. His enormous Chorten is gold-covered and inlaid with diamonds, pearls, turquoise, agate and coral. The whole structure stands 14 metres high.
There are also many other constructions in Potala Palace which include: the School of Buddist Logic, the seminary, the printing House, gardens, courtyards and even the jail. For more than 300 years, Potala Palace has treasured many culture relics such as murals, stupas, statues, thangkas, and rare sutras.
The Potala has been a sacred place for hundreds of years. Thousands of pilgrims from Tibet, other parts of China and abroad come every year to pay homage. Their devotion is shown by the difficult journeys they have to make to reach their "Holy City".
At present, the Potala was listed as a cultural relic under the special protection of the state. Architecturally, it is considered to be one of the wonders of the world-admired by Chinese nationalities and foreigners alike.
travel tips
On the Moburi (Red) Mountain, the northern part of Lhasa, Tibet.
Ways of getting to the top: By taxi from the back of the hill; climbing up from the front path.
Opening time: 9:30am- 13:00pm; 15:00pm--18:00pm