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| The highest palace in the world--The Potala Palace |
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The Potala Palace is located in the west part of the old city of Lhasa--the capital of the Xizang Autonomous Region. The altitude of the highest hall being 3,767.19 metres, it is the highest palace in the world, as well as the embodiment of the Tibetan people's wisdom.
The Potala Palace was originally built during the 640s in the days of the Turfan King Songtsan Gampo, more than 1,300 years ago. The thirteen-storeyed palace stands 117.19 metres high, with about 1,000 rooms, big and small. Sprawling some 400 metres from west to east and 350 metres from north to south, the Potala Palace covers an area of 130,000 square metres in total on the top of the "Red Hill",The entire building is made of both stone and wood, with walls averaging 3 metres thick, and the thickest 5 metres or more. Viewed from the outside, the Potala Palace is divided into two main parts--the Red Palace and the white Palace, the former consisting the dalai Lamas' tomb stupas and various chapels, the latter being both the dalai Lamas' residence and the halls for the Dalai Lamas' political activities.
Spread out in many tiers all over the hill top, the Potala Palace with its lofty and magnificent halls and its brilliant gold-gilded pinnacle, concentrates the high accomplishments of the Tibetan People and reflects their unique style of architecture, painting, sculpture and other forms of expression. The Pltala Palace is famed as a bright pearl on"the Roof of the world".
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