Potala Palace


The Potala Palace, is the most valuable storehouse in Tibet. It is a huge treasure house for
materials and articles of Tibetan history, religion, culture and arts. The Palace is widely known for
the precious sculptures, murals, scripture, Buddha figures, murals, antiques, and religious jewelry
treasured up, they are of great cultural and artistic value. In 1994, the Potala Palace was declared the
United Nations World Cultural Heritage site.

When the thirty-third King of Tibet, Songtsan Gampo, was married in 641 to Princess Wen Cheng
of the Tang Dynasty, he had 999 houses built on Hongshan Hill for his bride, as well as the red
building at the top of the hill. The Buddhists later named it Potala Palace, meaning the sacred land
of Buddhism.

The Potala Palace is 3,756.5 meters above sea level, covering an area of over 360,000 square meters (about 32 acres), measuring 360 meters
from east to west and 270 meters from south to north. It has 13 stories, and is 117 meters high. The walls of the Palace are over one meter in
thickness, the thickest sections being five meters. They are painted with huge colorful murals, which make it beautiful and lively.

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.

The stone-and-wood-structured Potala Palace consists of the White Palace and Red Palace. The White Palace, comprising halls, temples and
courtyards, serves as the living quarters of the Dalai Lama. The Red Palace includes various chambers for
worshipping Buddha and chambers housing the eight stupa that contain the remains of fifth through
thirteenth Dalai Lama. All the stupas are covered with gold foil. The most magnificent stupa belongs to the
fifth Dalai Lama. It is 14.85 meters tall and inlaid with pearl and jade.

Known as a historical and cultural museum of Tibetan Buddhism, the Potala Palace houses many artifacts
of ancient Tibet, such as frescos, stupas and images of Buddha. People feel amazing about the colorful
sculptures and paintings there.