The Potala Palace used to be the political center of Tibet, and the abode of the Dalai Lama, before the current Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959. It sits majestically atop the Red Hill in the center of Lhasa Valley, and is named after the home of Bodhisattva Chenresi (or Guanyin).
Of all the palaces I’ve visited, I found the Potala Palace the most breathtaking, mostly because it rises out of a vast emptiness, with rolling mountains as its backdrop. If you think about that’s rather rare, since most political centers are situated in the middle of the city for convenience among other things. The way the Potala towers over the valley, with its bright red, yellow, and white, made it such a beautiful sight to behold.
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