Julianne's Diary Day Ten-Tibet, Lhasa

This morning we swapped our long days on the roads around Tibet for a bus and the many sights around Lhasa. We also swapped the sunshine for a little rain early in the day.

The World Heritage Listed Potala Palace in Lhasa. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

Our first destination was the most famous landmark in all of Tibet, the Potala Palace.

While we saw it from the outside when we arrived, over a week ago, nothing can prepare you for what's inside. To quote the World Heritage Committee, "the Potala Palace contains exceptional and universal value which requires protection for the benefit of all humanity."

The story goes that the 32nd King of Tibet moved his capital to Lhasa from the Shannan prefecture and built the Potala Palace. This was to become the Dalai Lama's winter palace and was constructed using concrete, stone and timber.

Nowadays three groups of people live in the Potala Palace. Administration officials who are responsible for repairs, maintenance and tourism, Fire fighters and guards, who are responsible for security, and monks who handle religious affairs and perform religious duties.

Fire fighters seemed to me at first to be a strange group but given much of the Palace is made from wood and incense is being constantly burned I guess it makes sense.