Potala PalaceConstruction of the Potala Palace began in the mid-7th century for the Tubo King Songtsan Gambo to greet his Han wife, Princess Wencheng. It comprised 999 rooms then, plus one built atop the Red Hill, which, said to have 1,000 rooms, was later destroyed by thunderbolts and wars. What we see today is a structure built during the 17th century.In the mid-17th century, the White House was added to the Potala Palace, which spread along the Red Hill in Lhasa.The palace is a structure of clay, wood and stone. The palace was the residence of the Dalai Lama of various generations. Beginning with the period of the 5th Dalai Lama, major religious and political ceremonies were held there.The palace covers a total area of 360,000 square meters, with major building rising 117 meters high in 13 floors, and extends some 360 meters from east to west.From 1989 to 1994, the State earmarked some 55 million Yuan and large quantities of gold and silver to repair the palace.In December 1994, the palace found its w