Top 10 Unbelievable Facts About the Potala Palace in China

Top 10 Unbelievable Facts about Potala Palace in China

The highest ancient palace in the world is the Potala Palace found in Lhasa, Tibet. This palace was once an imperial palace, a monastery and seat of government, now a museum. Tibetans flock to visit it for its sheer magnificence and its reverence as a holy place; a winter residence of the Dalai Lamas.

The Potala Palace was meticulously built. A visit to it reveals the White Palace or rooftop which is the Dalai Lama living areas and the Red place that hosts religious functions. These top 10 unbelievable facts about the Potala Palace are fascinating.

1. No building is allowed to be higher than the Potala Palace.

Potala Palace view from the foothill of Chagpo Ri- by Ondřej Žváček- Wikimedia Commons

As an unwritten rule, there isn’t a building in China taller than The Potala Palace which stands at 117 meters or 384 feet up a mountain. Access to it is via remarkable zig-zagging steps. Out of respect for the holy site, you will not find a building taller than the Potala Palace in China.  It is the highest ancient palace in the world.

The views from the Potala Palace’s roof and balconies are worth the trip up to it. Here you will see Lhasa city and the horizon as well as the valley countryside and distant snow-capped Himalayan mountains.

2. The Potala Palace was given as a present, the whole of it!

Tibetan ladies- by Dawa Drolma- Wikimedia Commons

Forget the house, car, or yacht as a wedding gift for a bride to be. A palace not only pushes the envelope on gift-giving but totally topples it over- King Songtsan Gampo gifted the Potala Palace to his bride to be in 637 AD.

At the time, however, the Palace was smaller. Nevertheless, this was still impressive. The Potala Palace was however destroyed in the ninth century and rebuilt but the fifth Dalai Lama.

3. The Potala Palace hosts one of the most extravagant stupa’s

Stupa- Wikimedia Commons

A stupa is a hemispherical Buddhist commemorative monument that usually houses sacred relics associated with saintly entities such as Buddha. The Potala Palace has a number of this. However, the 5th Dalai Lama’s stupa stands out. It is coated with more than 3,700 kg of gold! This makes it the most treasured and luxurious stupa yet.

Making up the stupa’s décor are pearls, corals, amber, and agate jewels that are more than 18,000 in number It is also overlaid with 3, 721 kilograms of gold!

4. The Potala Palace was once abandoned

N its history, the Potala Palace has at least 800 years sans occupancy! This was due to the fact that regimes that came after King Songstan Gampo simply did not have their capitals at Lhasa.

During his reign of Tubo, King Songstan Gampo moved his capital to Lhasa and embarked on building the Potala Palace and made it the main palace of his kingdom. This was in the seventh century. By the ninth century at the demise of the kingdom, the Potala Palace and the whole city was deserted.

5. The Potala Palace houses 8 Dalai Lama’s mummies

Tenzin Gyatso – 14th and current Dalai Lama- by- Christopher Michel- Wikimedia Commons

Similar to the pyramids in Egypt, stupas of the Potala Palace are Dalai Lama’s tombs. Some Tibetan monasteries’ stupas store whole monks’ bodies- this goes for the 5th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th Dalai Lamas’ bodies preserved in 8 holy stupas.

6. The Potala Palace’s wall is painted with milk!

Potala Palace outer wall- by Steve Hicks- Wikimedia Commons

The Potala Palace upholds the tradition of the annual painting of the palace’s walls. This takes place before the 22^nd day of the 9^th month of the Tibetan Calendar.  Until recent times where this is done within 10 days, this practice would take more than a month.

A new coating of paint on the Potala Palace’s walls may seem like a pretty normal, nothing out of the ordinary practice, only the substance used to paint is milk! A mixture of milk sugar, honey, and herbs mixed with lime is used for that extra touch.

7.   The Potala Palace has been home to at least 10 Dalai Lamas

13th Dalai Lama- by Sir Charles Alfred Bell – Wikimedia Commons

The Potala Palace is currently a museum open to visitors. This became so after the  Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959.  It however has housed 10 Dalai Lamas over a 317- year period. Determined to restore it, the 5^th Dalai Lama rebuilt and finished the White Palace section and he moved his government there. This became the beginning of Dalai Lama’s occupancy of the palace as a residence as well as government offices and an important place for religious activities.

8. The Potala Palace boasts very thick walls

Potala Palace red and white walls- by Antoine Taveneaux- Wikimedia Commons

The walls of the Potala Palace measure up to 5 meters thick! This is the walls’ base. From here the walls grow thinner higher up. The roof’s parapet wall is equally thicker than usual at 1meter thick.

The outer walls of the central part of the Potala Palace are painted red. This is where the Place gets its name, Potala Palace, meaning Red Palace.

9. Potala Palace receives a limited number of guests daily

Tourists outside Potala Palace- by Ondřej Žváček- Wikimedia Commons

The Potala Palace management authority has found a working system to keep the integrity of the palace while allowing visitors access to it as well. It allows in only 2,300 visitors per day. This ensures that the palace is protected but also gives room for a visitor to the palace to have a proper tour of it.

10. The Potala Palace is functionally divided

The palace serves more than one function as these top 10 unbelievable facts about the Potala Palace may have already given away. It was a house of prayer for the Dalai Lama, and dedicated to the study of and advancement of Buddhism.

The palace was also the Dalai Lamas’ residence, assembly halls, and offices, or the Tibetan government.

The two separated functions of the Potala Palace take place in two different sections of it- the Red Palace and the White palace respectively. The Red Palace is the highest point as well as the largest.

The Potala Palace’s artistic appeal is unrivaled. It is a majestic, brilliant, magnificent, and uninhibited architectural work. Tibetan people mostly revere Potala Palace to which they pay homage in their thousands.

The Potala palace has such a striking structure that it is considered a wonder of the world. The interior also has a lot to offer- from the frescoes to the artifacts and functional rooms, visit to Potala Palace is rewarding.