Potala Palace
This architectural wonder is Lhasa cardinal landmark. It can be seen from all directions for miles around. Potala Palace was set up in the seventh century AD during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo. It's located on the Red Hill, covering an area of 41 hectares.
Potala Palace consists of the White and Red palaces with more than 1000 rooms. The white places were for secular use.
White Palaces of Potala Palace contained living quarters, offices, the seminary and the printing house. The red Palace's function was religious. It contained gold stupas, which were the tombs of eight Dalai Lamas, the monks' assembly hall, numerous chapels and shrines, and libraries for Buddhist Scriptures.
With its world-wide reputation, the Potala Palace stands on the Red Hill overlooking the Tibetan city of Lhasa as a major national cultural monument under special protection by the government of the People's Republic of China. The name of the large sacred Buddhist building complex is a derivation from Samskrit Potalaka which is the mythical mountain abode of Avalokitesvara, one of the Bodhisattvas (Buddhist saints). In this connection Lhasa is popularly referred to as Second Mount Potalaka.
Through more than 300 years the Potala Palace has accumulated an enormous collection of monuments and relics. There are murals covering totally more than 2,500m, nearly 1,000 stupas, about 10,000 statues and as many Thang-ka paintings, the religious library there includes puttra-leaf scriptures and the Bkagyur (Buddhas's Teachings) volumes.
There are also a unique collection of golden diplomas and jade seals granted to successive Dalai lamas by Chinese Ming (1356-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) emperors to re-affirm the official ties between the local Tibetan administration and the central Chinese government in Potala Palace. And the gold and silver artifacts, porcelain vessels, enamelwork, jade ware, brocade and other handicraft articles preserved in the Potala Palace are enormous and richly diversified.
