Potala Palace (Tibetan: ཕོ་བྲང་པོ་ཏ་ལ་, Wylie: pho brang po ta la; simplified Chinese: 布达拉宫; traditional Chinese: 布達拉宮; pinyin: Bùdálā Gōng) is a museum complex in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It was formerly the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, and from 1649 until 1959 served as the Dalai Lamas' residence. The palace complex became a museum following the annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China.
The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, regarded in Buddhist tradition as the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Construction of the present structure was begun in 1645 at the order of the 5th Dalai Lama, advised by Konchog Chophel, the Thirty-fifth Ganden Tripa of the Gelug school. It was built on the site of an earlier palace attributed to Songtsen Gampo (traditionally dated to 637).
Built in the dzong style, at an altitude of about 3,700 metres (12,100 ft) on Marpo Ri in the center of the Lhasa Valley, the palace measures 400 metres (1,300 ft) east–west and 350 metres (1,150 ft) north–south. Its sloping stone walls average 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick, 5 metres (16 ft) at the base, with copper poured into the foundations for earthquake protection. Rising 13 stories, the complex contains more than 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines, and some 200,000 statues, reaching a height of 119 metres (390 ft) above the mountain and over 300 metres (980 ft) above the valley floor.
History
Context
The Dalai Lama inhabited an estate at Drepung Monastery known as Ganden Podrang. During 1621 Lhasa was made the jurisdiction of Ganden Podrang by Tsang. During the third month of 1642 Gushri Khan Dhamma King, Holder of the Faith, had taken from the Sde-srid Tsang-pa regime of the Garma Gagyu Sect (Tsang) by military forces the places in Tibet, which was the Land of Wooden Doors, held by that governship; and then offered the thirteen parts of Tibet, which is the whole, to the Dalai Lama. On the fifth day of the fourth month of the Water-Horse year in the 11th cycle the Dalai Lama was made sovereign of Tibet on the golden fearless snow lion throne. Sometime during or soon after 1644, the Dalai Lama, the then regent of Ganden Podrang, and Gushri Khan all decided to build a palace.
The Potala is built on the site of palace Songtsen Gampo on the Red Hill. The Potala contains two chapels on its northwest corner that conserve parts of the earlier palace. One is the Phakpa Lhakhang, the other the Chogyel Drupuk, a recessed cavern identified as Songtsen Gampo's meditation cave. Ngawang Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the modern Potala Palace in 1645, after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel, pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa.
The external structure was built in 3 years, while the interior, together with its furnishings, took 45 years to complete.
Inhabitation
The new palace got its name from a hill on Cape Comorin at the southern tip of India—a rocky point sacred to the bodhisattva of compassion, who is known as Avalokitesvara, or Chenrezi.
The Dalai Lama and his government moved into the Potrang Karpo ('White Palace') in 1649. The Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. Construction lasted until 1694, some twelve years after his death. The Potrang Marpo ('Red Palace') was added between 1690 and 1694. Kalachakra Mandala was constructed during the 1690s.
The Yamantaka Mandala was made during 1751.
Modern
The lower white frontage on the south side of the palace was used to hoist two gigantic thangkas joined representing the figures of Tara and Sakyamuni during the Sertreng Festival on the 30th day of the second Tibetan month.
Amongst at least one group of Tibetans c. 1950 the "Potala" is known colloquially as "Peak Potala" (Tse Potala), or most commonly as "the Peak".
Under the People's Republic of China
The palace was damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese in 1959, when Chinese shells were launched into the palace's windows. It escaped damage during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 through the personal intervention of Zhou Enlai, who was then the Premier of the People's Republic of China. According to Tibetan historian Tsering Woeser, the palace, which harboured "over 100,000 volumes of scriptures and historical documents" and "many store rooms for housing precious objects, handicrafts, paintings, wall hangings, statues, and ancient armour", "was almost robbed empty".
The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.
Rapid modernisation has been a concern for UNESCO, however, which expressed concern over the building of modern structures immediately around the palace which threaten the palace's unique atmosphere. The Chinese government responded by enacting a rule barring the building of any structure taller than 21 metres in the area. UNESCO was also concerned over the materials used during the restoration of the palace, which commenced in 2002 at a cost of RMB180 million (US$22.5 million), although the palace's director, Qiangba Gesang, has clarified that only traditional materials and craftsmanship were used. The palace has also received restoration works between 1989 and 1994, costing RMB55 million (US$6.875 million).
The number of visitors to the palace was restricted to 1,600 a day, with opening hours reduced to six hours daily to avoid over-crowding from 1 May 2003. The palace was receiving an average of 1,500 a day prior to the introduction of the quota, sometimes peaking to over 5,000 in one day. Visits to the structure's roof were banned after restoration efforts were completed in 2006 to avoid further structural damage. Visitorship quotas were raised to 2,300 daily to accommodate a 30% increase in visitorship since the opening of the Qingzang railway into Lhasa on 1 July 2006, but the quota is often reached by mid-morning. Opening hours were extended during the peak period in the months of July to September, where over 6,000 visitors would descend on the site.
Architecture
The Potala has inward-sloping walls with straight rows of many windows at the upper parts of the walls, and flat roofs at various levels. At the south base of the rock is a large space enclosed by walls and gates with great porticos on the inner side. A series of staircases with intervals leads to the summit of the rock. The whole width of this is occupied by the palace.
The central part of the group of buildings is a quadrangular terminating in gilt canopies similar to those on Jokhang Temple Monastery. The crimson coloured central member of Potala is called the "red palace" and contains the principal halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas.
The colours: red, white, yellow, are caused by the application of limestone.