Red Hill is a holy place for Tibetan Buddhism located in Lhasa’s northwest, the Potala Palace was originally built there as the house for the marriage of Emperor Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wenchang in the Tang Dynasty (618 AD – 907 AD). The palace was destroyed twice in its long history. Dalai Lama V rebuilt it in 1645, on the slope of Red Hill and it extended to the hilltop. 

The master paintings decorated the Potala Palace that about Buddhist teachings and stories. The Red Palace displays the artistic statues of Songtsen Gampo and Princess Wenchang, as well as 1000 Buddhist images. In 1994, UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage has listed the Potala Palace. Nowadays, the palace attracts Buddhist worshippers as well as tourists at home and abroad to visit during religious festivals. The palace has two parts: Places used by the Dalai Lama as his living chambers and for political activities and holy stupas (tombs) of the successive generations of Dalai Lamas with various Buddhist halls. 

The essence of the first part is in the White Palace, built in 1645-1653. It fans out from the original Hall of the Goddess of Mercy towards the east and west, encompasses groups of monastic halls with white walls hence the White Palace name implies. The White Palace has seven levels of which the fourth, Coqenxag or the Eastern Hall – the most important Buddhist hall in the Potala Palace, is propped up by 38 large pillars. It witnessed many major religious and political activities, including the enthronement ceremony for the reincarnated soul boy of Dalai Lama and the ceremony held when Dalai Lama began his reign at the age of 18. The 5^th and 6^th levels were used as the offices and living chambers of the Prince Regent. The seventh was the Winter Palace for Dalai Lamas, also known as the Sunlight Hall simply because it enjoyed boundless sunlight through its wide windows. It furnished with gold basins, jade bowls, Buddhist paintings and many treasures to demonstrate the high position of Lamas. Outside the hall is a spacious balcony that gives a bird’s eye view of the whole Lhasa city and sees undulating mountain ranges, the beautiful Lhasa River, tracts of fields, tree-shaded villages and the glistening Jokhang Monastery afar. 

The second part is the Red Palace, 10,000 square meters. The statues of Songtsan Gambor, Princess Wencheng and some thousands of Buddhist figures are being placed. During construction in 1690, the Qing Emperor Kangxi sent 100 artisans of Han, Manchu and Mongolian nationalities to take part. Most space in the Red Palace is having various Buddhist halls and eight holy stupas containing the remains of the Dalai Lamas. Dalai Lama V’s holy stupa is decorated with 143,000 ounces of gold sheet and inlaid 18,677 pieces of pearls, as well as gems, coral, amber and agate. Sixipuncog, the Western hall, is the largest in the Red Palace. It holds a plaque bearing an inscription by Emperor Qianlong from the Qing Dynasty. It sees the holy throne of Dalai Lama and a pair of colored silk curtains granted by Emperor Kangxi. The Three-World Hall, of utmost importance in the Red Palace, collects Dangyur, which Emperor Yongzhen of the Qing Dynasty presented to Lalai Lama VII. The westernmost section of the Red Palace is the Hall of the Holy Stupa for Dalai XIII, 14 meters high, contains a Mandala said to be made of 200,000 pearls. 

The Potala Palace stirs wonder, affection, and gratitude in the viewers’ hearts. It is the home of Buddha. Wherever you sit in the Potala Palace, its 1,000 windows look over you in what can seem a kind of sacred protection. Look at the Potala Palace, you see not only one of the most stirring structures on the planet – “the most extraordinary building in the world,” said the renowned British traveler Peter Fleming – but also a culture that is still strongly influential today.