The Potala Palace is a dzong fortress in
the city of Lhasa, in Tibet. It was the winter palace of the Dalai
Lamas, has been a museum since then, and is a World Heritage Site.
Tradition has
it that the three main hills of Lhasa represent the Three Protectors of Tibet. Chokpori, just to the south of the
Potala, is the soul-mountain of Vajrapani, Pongwari that of Manjusri,
and Marpori, the hill on which the Potala stands, represents Avalokitesvara.
The building measures 400 metres (1,300 ft)
east-west and 350 metres (1,150 ft) north-south, with sloping stone walls
averaging 3 metres (9.8 ft) thick, and 5 metres (16 ft) thick at the
base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against
earthquakes. Thirteen storeys of buildings, containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000
shrines and about 200,000 statues, soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of
Marpo Ri, the Red Hill, rising more than 300 metres (980 ft)
in total above the valley floor.
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, although the palace's director, Qiangba Gesang, has clarified that only
traditional materials and craftsmanship were used.
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.
