Potala Palace

Potala Palace	Potala Palace

Lhasa means “sacred land” in Tibetan, and Potala Palace, the architectural wonder in the center of Lhasa, is the symbol of that sacred land. The Buddhists later named it Potala Palace, meaning the sacred land of Buddhism.The Potala Palace, standing atop a cliff more than 3700 meters above sea level, is a 13-story palace complex. It is one of the architectural wonders of the world. The palace was built in the seventh century by King Songtsan Gambo, unifier of Tibet, for his bride , the Han nationality Princess Wen Cheng, who was sent to him by the Tang dynasty emperor. Potala Palace occupies an area of 41 hectares, with the 13-storied main building rising 115 meters high. The complex is of stone and wood structure. The upper structure of the place is of wood. The roofs of the main buildings are in traditional Han architectural style with upturned eaves, tinkling bells at each corner and gilded yellow tiles. In December 1994, The Potala Palace of Lhasa was listed in the Chronology of Recognition of World Heritages in China.
The Potala Palace consists of two sections: the Red Palace in the center, used for religious functions and the White Palace on both side, used as the living quarters of Dalai Lama. Ravaged by lightning, fire, and war, the original palace was severely damaged. In the restored palace we see today, the white buildings on either side, called the White Palace, were built three hundred years ago by the fifth Dalai Lama as living quarters. The central building, called the Red Palace, was built by the disciple of the fifth Dalai Lama and contains mourning halls and libraries.
Potala Palace was constructed on the hill site. Surrounded by a wall three meters high, the thirteen-story palace is 110 meters tall and has over ten thousand pillars; its 90,000 square meters of floor space was built on an area of 102, 880 square meters. Sunlight Hall in Potala Palace is flooded with sunlight throughout the year. Eastern Sunlight Hall was the residence of the Thirteen Dalai Lama, and Western Sunlight Hall was lived in by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Now these luxurious halls house valuable peals, jewels, and antiques. Mural art is an intrinsic part of the architecture of Potala Palace. Every room, no matter how small, is decorated with colorful, vivid murals. The 698 murals along the painted second-floor corridor are the most extraordinary, depicting Buddhist stories and the unique scenery, customs, and legends of ancient Tibet.