(Potala Palace)

Potala Palace, standing in top a cliff in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, started building in the 7th century by King Songtsan gambo for his bride the Han nationality Princess Wen Cheng. In 1645 (the 2nd year of the Qing Shuan Zhi reign) when the Fifth Dalai Lama was made political and religious leader of Tibet by the Qing government, reconstruction and expansion of the Palace were carried out until it reached the present scale. The Fifth Dalai Lama began living there in 1653 (the 10th year of Shun Zhi) and since then "Potala" is the Sanskrit pronunciation of "Buddha's Mountain".

(Statue of Sacred Avalokitesvara in Potala Palace)

Built against the slope of a hill Potala Palace consists of halls, the main building, the worshipping hall and the Hall of stapes, an open square in the south and also in the north, and a Dragon King's Pool ect. Clustering around the main building, which is 110 meters high and 360 meters wide from east to west, are 8 sacrificial halls housing tens of thousands of Buddhist statues. In the Cave where the King Dharma Practices Buddhism built in the 7th century are statues of King Songtan Gambo and Princess Wen Cheng. The stupas of the Dalai Lamas are extremely exquisite, particularly that of the Fifth Dalai Lama's which is covered with gold leaf and studded with jade and precious stones. The East Main Hall was the place where ceremonies for the assumptions of office by the Dalai Lamas were presided over by ministers form the Qing Dynasty central government.

The splendour of the Potala Palace is a great achievement of Tibetan architectural art which also amalgamates the skills of artisans of the Han, Mongolian and Manchu nationalities.