Potala Palace by Coolmanjackey licensed under the terms of CC BY-SA 3.0
The Fifth Dalai Lama began construction of this imposing structure back in 1645. The exterior was done in just 3 years, but the interior and its furnishing took 45 years. The Potala Palace served as the chief residence for the Dalai Lama until the 1959 Tibetan Uprising, and it now serves as a museum.
The palace’s sheer size and scale make it an architectural marvel. The 13-story fortress contains over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues. Built along and atop Marpori (“Red Hill”), it rises nearly 400 feet into the air.
With all its majesty, it’s no surprise Potala Palace has been called one of the “New Seven Wonders” of the world.
