China Guide
Tibet
The Potala Palace
Opening time: Daily 8.30am–6pm, last entry 3.30pm; tickets should to be bought one or two days in advance
Price: ¥100–200, depending on the season
Address: #2 minibus
Perched 130m above Lhasa atop Marpo Ri (Red Mountain), the Potala Palace is dazzling both inside and out, an enduring landmark of the city of Lhasa. As you glory in the views from the roof, gaze at the glittering array of gold and jewels and wend your way from chapel to chapel, you'll rub shoulders with pilgrims from all over ethnic Tibet, making offerings at each of the altars. But be aware that you're in a sad shell of a place: most of the rooms are off limits, part of a UNESCO World Heritage grant was spent on a CCTV system, and the caretaker monks are not allowed to wear their robes. And don't tackle the Potala on your first day at altitude – the palace is a long climb, and even the Tibetans huff and puff on the way up; you'll enjoy it more once you've acclimatized.
Rising thirteen dramatic storeys and consisting of over a thousand rooms, the palace complex took a workforce of at least seven thousand builders and fifteen hundred craftsmen over fifty years to complete. The main mass of the Potala is the White Palace (Potrange Karpo), while the building rising from the centre of this is the Red Palace (Potrang Marpo). Built for several purposes, the Potala served as administrative centre, seat of government, monastery, fortress and the home of all the Dalai Lamas from the Fifth to the Fourteenth.
Among the highlights of the interior is the opulently carved and painted Official Reception Hall, with its high throne and fabulous brocade and thangkas (embroidered religious scrolls). The Red Palace is the final resting place of many of the Dalai Lamas and the public is usually allowed to view a couple of their jewel-encrusted golden chortens (stupas) in the grand Chapel of the Dalai Lamas' Tombs. The chortens support tier upon tier of fantastic engravings and encased deep within are the bodies of the Dalai Lamas, preserved in salt. The golden chorten of the Fifth Dalai Lama is particularly awesome: three storeys high and made with some 3700kg of gold.