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. 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.
Ngawang Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the modern Potala Palace in 1645,) birdth
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. some twelve years after his death. The
Yamantaka Mandala was made during 1751. 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". File:亜細亜大観 03 124 "西藏教皇達賴喇嘛法王の宮殿 （西藏）".jpg|Potala Palace in the 1920s File:The Zhol PIllar in 1949.jpg|The Sertreng ceremony on 28 April 1949 with
thangkas on the front of the palace
Under the People's Republic of China The palace was moderately 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 According to Tibetan historian Tsering Woeser, the palace, which harboured "over 100,000 volumes of scriptures and historical documents" and "many store rooms for housing precious objects, handicrafts, paintings, wall hangings, statues, and ancient armour", "was almost robbed empty".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 ==