The Potala Palace, right where I left it five years ago, in downtown Lhasa.  The landscaping had changed, the large square across the street had been closed off for what appeared to be a major facelift, and the weather was more threatening this day, but the palace itself looked the same as ever.  Our final official event for Lifeline Express had taken place hours earlier; the rest of this day and all of the next consisted of sightseeing within Lhasa.

West side of the Potala, on the way up to the tourist entrance.  Two nights earlier, our group had attempted to sleep on bunk beds at a military base; this morning, everyone felt much better after a night in the very new, very nice Xianzu Island Holiday Village Hotel, along the Lhasa River.  It’s the nicest hotel I’ve seen in Lhasa, except perhaps for its differently themed sister hotel next door.

From near the Potala entrance, the view north.  Lhasa has no five star hotels yet, but it’s only a matter of time: pilgrimages to Lhasa by newly rich Chinese are growing in popularity, and where there is a demand, there will be a supply.

On the roof of the White Palace of the Potala.  As before, photography was not allowed inside, but now the surveillance was being conducted by unobtrusive cameras rather than by the ever-present but occasionally unobservant monks I saw years ago.  Also, the posted signs allowing photography in certain rooms for a fee are now gone.  Photography is allowed on the roof; for some reason I took little advantage of that on my last visit, and decided to do a better job this time.  Most of the remaining photographs on this page were taken on the roof.

Painted columns and woodwork on the roof of the White Palace.  The Potala was built over three centuries ago in two phases.  First came the White Palace, a wide nine-story structure spread out across the top of Red Hill (Marpo Ri), some 360 years ago.  Fifty years later came the larger thirteen-story Red Palace, rising from the center of the White Palace.  In Tibetan culture, red symbolizes authority and white symbolizes peace.  The tourist route runs through the Red Palace.

Two floors of balconies atop the roof of the Potala.  Canvas-like hangings are tied down to form the walls, behind which are halls and bedchambers.  Starting with the fifth Dalai Lama, who built this place, all the Dalai Lamas have lived here in the Potala Palace - including the current fourteenth Dalai Lama, who was here until about fifty years ago.  It was their year-round residence until just over two centuries ago, when the Norbu Lingka (on the next page) became the summer residence; the Potala then became the winter residence.

Detail of door woodwork on the roof of the Potala.  The line of succession among the Dalai Lamas who lived here has not been smooth.  The sixth Dalai Lama was a rather wild youth who died after his capture by Qing dynasty China, which replaced him with a Dalai Lama of its own choosing: a lama who had resided for years at the Ta’er Si monastery, shown on an earlier page.  Actual power was often held by regents, appointed by Dalai Lamas before dying, who were supposed to oversee things only until the next Dalai Lama came of age.  Three Dalai Lamas died young and under suspicious circumstances, leaving those regents in power.

Detail of a roof edge, which seemed to be made of pressed sheet metal or tin.  During Mao’s rule of China, the palace took some damage but not nearly as much as it might have, considering the massive amount of temple destruction going on at that time.  Chinese troops shelled the Potala during a Tibetan uprising, but supposedly protected it later during the Cultural Revolution.

Behind this ornate window is neither a chapel nor a tomb of a Dalai Lama, like most of the rooms available for viewing within the Red Palace, but the main Potala Palace gift shop.

A painted wooden column and beam, flush with a stucco-covered wall, on the roof of the Potala.

The north side of the Red Palace, viewed on the way down from the Potala.

A final look at the Potala Palace late the following afternoon, with a much more cooperative sky for photography.  Some sidewalk work was being done in front of the Potala, hence the makeshift wall.  The weather changes often in Lhasa, and I’ve found that driving by here every so often during the day can yield dramatically different views.