UNESCO World Heritage SiteNational 5A Scenic AreaSouthwest China
Potala Palace
布达拉宫 · Tibet, Lhasa
The towering winter palace of the Dalai Lamas, a UNESCO icon rising above the high city of Lhasa.
The Potala Palace is a vast white-and-red hilltop palace-fortress above Lhasa at 3,700 metres, with 13 storeys, over a thousand rooms and countless murals, stupas and chapels. It is the architectural and spiritual emblem of Tibet, and a visit combines lavish gilded tombs of past Dalai Lamas with sweeping views over the city and surrounding mountains.
Founded in the 7th century under King Songtsen Gampo and largely rebuilt from the 17th century as the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas, the Potala served as Tibet's political and religious centre. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994 (with extensions), together with the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka.
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