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Potala Palace
This architectural wonder is Lhasa cardinal landmark. It can be seen from all directions for miles around. Potala 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 consists of the White and Red palaces with more than 1000 rooms. The white places were for secular use. It 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 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 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. And the gold and silver artifacts, porcelain vessels, enamelwork, jadeware, brocade and other handicraft articles preserved in the Potala are enormous and richly diversified.
The Potala Palace was included into World Cultural Heritage list by UNESCO in 1994.
Since almost all the Tibetan tour itineraries include Potala Palace, it seems easy for tourists to visit it. However, because the Tibetan municipality government has been maintaining the Potala Palace between 2007 to 2009, only 3000 tourists are allowed to visit Potala Palace each day. For that reason, you’d better confirm it with your travel agency before your tour.
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