Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is a famous palace-style architectural complex located on the Red Hill in the northwest of Lhasa, the capital city of China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region. It was first built during the reign of Songtsen Gambo (617- 650) and was later rebuilt under the direction of the 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682) on the original site and named the "Potala Palace". It served as the winter residence for successive Dalai Lamas, and became the political and religious center of Tibet's old serf society.
The Potala Palace covers an area of 400,000 square meters, with a floor area of 130,000 square meters. Its main building has 13 floors and is over 110 meters high. The pal- ace, with a distinctive Tibetan style, was built with stone and wood on a hill. Its white granite walls and red walls and golden roofs stand in sharp contrast with each other, complementing its unique architectural style. The palace, known as the "Holy Temple on the Plateau", showcases the superb craftsmanship of the Tibetan people, as well as that of the Han, Mongolian,Manchu and other ethnic groups.
With a rich collection of cultural artefacts, classics, and treasures, the Potala Palace is a museum of architectural art and Buddhist art. An important testament to China's ethnic and national unity, it is also valuable to the research into Tibet's politics, economy, history, and culture. In 1994, the Potala Palace was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
布達拉宮
布達拉宮位于中國西藏自治區首府拉薩市區西北的紅山上，是著名的宮堡式建筑群。布達拉宮始建于公元6世紀松贊干布（617-650）時期，后于17世紀由五世達賴喇嘛（1617-1682）在其舊址上重修宮殿，稱作"布達拉宮"， 并作為歷代達賴喇嘛的冬宮居所，成為舊時西藏農奴社會政教合一的統治中心。
布達拉宮占地40萬平方米，建筑面積13萬平方米，宮體主樓13層，高110多米。宮殿主體采用石木結構依山而建，具有鮮明的藏式風格，其花崗石墻體、白瑪草墻領、金碧輝煌的金頂形成紅、白、黃三種色彩的鮮明對比，并與獨特建筑型體相互輝映，體現了以藏族為主，漢、蒙、滿等各族能工巧匠高超的技藝水平，被譽為"高原圣殿"。
布達拉宮收藏和保存了豐富的文物、典籍、珍品，堪稱一座建筑藝術與佛教藝術的博物館，也是中華民族團結和國家統一的重要實證，對于研究中國西藏政治、經濟、歷史、文化等都具有重要價值。1994年，布達拉宮列入聯合國教科文組織世界文化遺產名錄。
