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Potala Palace
Little remains of the
original Potala Palace of the seventh century, built as a place for meditation
by King Songtsen Gampo on the occasion of his marriage to Princess Wencheng of
the Tang Court. Standing atop the Red Hill in Lhasa, the current structure
dates from the 17th century, it was rebuilt by the 5th Dalai Lama and became the
Winter Palace of the Dalai Lamas from that time. The 13-story building of
1,000 rooms can be seen from many miles away.
The Potala is divided into
two section--an outer section, the White Palace and an inner section, the Red
Palace, the latter containing the temples and reliquary tombs of the Dalai
Lamas. The entire building is a structure of stone and timber. At a
height of 117 meters, the Potala was the world's tallest building until
20th-century architects designed cityscapes of new buildings that far surpassed
the Potala in height--but not in its architectural majesty.
There are grand palaces.
The Potala stands so high that it resembles a magnificent castle in the heavens.
The statues of King Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wencheng are objects of worship.
Among the eight tomb pagodas of the Dalai Lamas, the tomb of the 5th Dalai Lama
is the most extravagant. It is 14 meters high. Eleven thousand
ounces of gold were used in the gold plating, the designs and decorations all
inlaid with diamonds and pearls as well as turquoise, agate and coral stones.
The Potala Palace is a
treasure house, for it contains the golden handwritten Buddhist scriptures,
valuable gifts from Chinese emperors and a lot of priceless antiques.
There are many colorful sculptures and paintings chronicling Buddhist folklore
and ancient Tibetan life. The Potala Palace deserves the title of art
gallery and museum. It is also a symbol of the wisdom and power of the
Tibetan people.
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