Potala Palace

The Potala is one of the great wonders of world architecture. As has been the case with centuries of pilgrims before you, the first sight of the fortress-like structure will be a magical moment that you will remember for a long time. It's hard to peel your eyes away from the place.

Pilgrims murmuring prayers shuffle through the rooms to make offerings of khatak (ceremonial scarves) and liquid yak butter.The first recorded use of the site dates from the 7th century AD, when King Songtsen Gampo built a palace here. Construction of the present structure began during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama in 1645 and took divisions of labourers and artisans more than 50 years to complete. It is impressive enough to have caused Zhou Enlai to send his own troops to protect it from the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

Grand aesthetics and history aside, one can't help noticing that it is today but essentially an empty shell, a cavernous memorial to what once was. Unlike the Jokhang, which hums with vibrant activity, the Potala lies dormant like a huge museum, and the lifelessness of the highly symbolic building constantly reminds visitors that the Dalai Lama has been forced to take his government into exile. It's a modern irony that the Potala now hums with large numbers of chattering Chinese tourists staring with wonder at the building the generation before them tried so hard to destroy.