The Potala Palace

The world-famous Potala Palace towers on Red Hill in the northwestern part of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. According to followers of Tibetan Buddhism, Red Hill is as sacred as Mount Putuo (“Potala” in Tibetan) where the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara resided.

The Potala Palace, with its thousand halls, was built by Songtsan Gambo, king and founder of the Tubo Kingdom, in honor of his marriage to Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). After the collapse of the Tubo Kingdom, the Potala Palace was largely destroyed by wars. Reconstruction began in 1645, when Lozang Gyatso, the fifth Dalai Lama, founded the Ganden Phodrang Dynasty and was designated by the Qing Dynasty court as the political and religious leader of Tibet. Several hundred years of expansion by successive Dalai Lamas gave the Potala Palace its present form.

Harmonizing with the terrain of Red Hill, the 13-story structure was built tier upon tier from the foot of the hill up to the top. The main buildings of the Potala Palace are the White Palace, containing the Dalai Lama's living quarters, in the east; the Red Palace, including the chambers for worshiping Buddha and the chambers housing the stupas containing the remains of Dalai Lamas, in the middle; and the White Dormitories, for the Dalai Lama's most trusted monks, in the west. In front of the Red Palace is a high white wall, also known as the Sunning-Buddha Platform, where a large embroidered portrait of Buddha is hung during Buddhist festivals.

A zigzag stone stairway at the front leads visitors to the eastern gate, which has wall paintings of four guardians. Halfway up the hill are the Deyang Hall and a 1,600-square-meter promenade where the Dalai Lamas and their officials enjoyed performances of songs and dances. Above the promenade, through the winding Dasonggekog Corridor, is the East Main Hall, the largest hall in the White Palace.

In 1653, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty granted the fifth Dalai Lama a title, together with a gold album and a gold seal, and it was in the East Main Hall that the resident minister from the Qing government presided over the ceremony where the Dalai Lama ascended the throne and took over the reins of government. After the fifth Dalai Lama, ceremonies for the assumption of office by the Dalai Lamas were held here. The East Main Hall is also the place where the Dalai Lamas attended important political and religious events.

The Red Palace includes the halls for worshiping Buddhas, and the halls housing the stupas containing the remains of eight Dalai Lamas. The earliest and largest of the stupas is that of the fifth Dalai Lama. Records say that the stupa of the fifth Dalai Lama is covered with 119,000 taels, or 3,720 kilograms, of gold leaf.

The West Main Hall, which houses the stupa of the fifth Dalai Lama, is the largest building in the Red Palace. Inside the hall is a plaque bearing an inscription by Qing Emperor Qianlong, a pair of huge embroidered curtains, a present from Emperor Kangxi; and other treasures. A weaving mill was established under the orders of Emperor Kangxi to make the curtains, and it took a year to finish them.

Above the West Main Hall is the Qoigyal Zhubpug Chapel, where, it is said, King Songtsan Gambo would sit in spiritual meditation. The chapel, one of the early buildings in the Potala Palace, houses statues of King Songtsan Gambo, Princess Wencheng, and some ministers. In the Sasong Namgyal Chapel, the tallest chapel of the Red Palace, is a portrait of Emperor Qianlong. In front of the portrait stands a longevity tablet inscribed with the words “A long, long life to our emperor!” Beginning with Kelzang Gyatso, the seventh Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama would pay his respects to the emperor here on New Year's Day, demonstrating his subordination to the emperor.

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.

Because of the many murals, the Potala Palace is reputed as an art gallery, and a priceless record of history. The murals inside the Potala Palace show the development of Tibetan Buddhism, the life story of the fifth Dalai Lama, Princess Wencheng's travel to Tibet, ancient Tibetan buildings, and stories about Buddhas and guardians.

The Potala Palace is the central shrine of Tibetan Buddhism, the symbol of Tibet, and the symbol of the Tibetan people. A crystallization of the wisdom of the laboring people of Tibet, the imposing Potala Palace receives many worshipers and visitors every year.