Entries Tagged "lhasa"

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet. The Palace was converted into a museum by the Chinese. The building measures 400 meters east to west and 350 meters north to south, so it is quite the site to see. The building was reinforced with copper into the foundation to help support it from earthquakes. It consists of thirteen stories of buildings which house over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues. The buildings sit atop of Red Mountain, so the views are amazing. Tradition has it that the three main hills of Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet".

The Potala Palace consists of many different parts. One of them is the White Palace which was the living quarters of the Dalai Lama. The first White Palace was built during the lifetime of the Fifth Dalai Lama. It was extended to its size today by the thirteenth Dalai Lama in the early twentieth century.

Then you have the Red Palace which is completely devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer. It consists of many different halls, chapels and libraries on many different levels with smaller galleries and winding passages. These include the main central hall of the Red Palace, the Great West Hall, which consists of four great chapels that proclaim the glory and power of the builder of the Potala, and also The Saint's Chapel, The North Chapel, South Chapel, East Chapel, and the West Chapel.

The galleries are the First Gallery which is on the floor above the West chapel. This gallery has a number of large windows that give light and ventilation to the Great West Hall and its chapels below. Between the windows, murals show the Potala's construction in very fine detail. The Second Gallery gives access to the central pavilion which is reserved for visitors to get refreshments and buy souvenirs. The Third Gallery, along with fine murals, has a number of dark rooms branching off containing enormous collections of bronze statues and miniature figures made of copper and gold that are worth a fortune. The chanting hall of the Seventh Dalai Lama is on the south side and on the east an entrance connects the section to the Saints chapel and the Deyangshar between the two palaces. Then there is the tomb of the 13th Dalai Lama which is located west of the Great West Hall and it can only be reached from an upper floor with the company of a monk or a guide. Built in 1933, the giant stupa contains priceless jewels and 1 ton of solid gold. Devotional offerings include elephant tusks from India, vases, porcelain lions and a pagoda made from over 200,000 pearls. Beautiful murals in traditional Tibetan styles depict many events of the life of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama during the early 20th century.

The visiting hours are 9am-3pm daily. Admission is limited to 2,500 visitors per day. Reservations should be made in advance. Entry time is assigned when the ticket is purchased.

Other sites to see in Lhasa are Tibetan Highlands, Barkhor Street, Sera Monastery, Summer Palace of Norbu Lingka, Jokhang Temple and Tibetan History Museum.