Lhasa
means “sacred land” in
Tibetan, and Potala
Palace, the
architectural wonder in
the center of Lhasa, is
the symbol of that
sacred land. When the
thirty-third King of
Tibet, Songtsan Gampo,
was married in 641 to
Princess Wen Cheng of
the Tang Dynastry, he
had 999 houses built on
Hongshan Hill for his
bride, as well as the
red building at the top
of the hill. The
Buddhists later named it
Potala Palace, meaning
the sacred land of
Buddhism.
Ravaged by lightning,
fire, and war, the
original palace was
severely damaged. In the
restored palace we see
today, the white
buildings on either
side, called the White
Palace was built three
hundred years ago by the
Fifth Dalai Lama as
living quarters. The
central building, called
the Red Palace, was
built by the disciple of
the fifth Dalai Lama and
contains mourning halls
and libraries.
Potala Palace was
constructed on the
hillside. Surrounded by
a wall three metres
high, the thirteen-story
palace is 110 metres
tall and has over ten
thousand pillars; its
90,000 square metres of
floor space was built on
an area of 102,880
square metres.
Sunlight Hall in Potala
Palace is flooded with
sunlight throught the
year. Eastern Sunlight
Hall was the residence
of the Thirteenth Dalai
Lama, and Western
Sunlight Hall was the
one for the Fourteenth
Dalai Lama. Now these
luxurious halls house
valuable pearls, jewels,
and antiques.
Mural art is an
intrinsic part of the
architecture of Potala
Palace. Every room, no
matter how small, is
decorated with colourful,
vivid murals. The 698
murals along the painted
second floor corridor
are the most
extraordinary, depicting
Buddhist stories and the
unique scenery, customs,
and legends of ancient
Tibet. |