CNTV.cn
Xinhuanet
September 8, 2015
BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhuanet) — Tibet’s landmark sites are famous around the world. Every year, hundreds of thousands of visitors make the high-altitude journey to witness the wonders of Lhasa. But the crowds are posing a threat to the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
For 1,300 years, Potala Palace has stood proudly atop Red Hill, overlooking Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa.
Once the seat of the Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lama. The Palace now welcomes daily hordes of tourists.
The magnificent Potala Palace Lhasa, the world’s highest palace, is an architectural wonder. It rises 13 stories high and contains more than 1,000 rooms. Inside, Buddhist believers and tourists alike are shuffling their way around.
The influx of tourists has put wall paintings, Buddha statues, frescoes, and scriptures at risk.
The threat has pushed authorities to implement new regulations,limiting the number of visitors to 5,000 a day.
“We’re currently discussing new ways to cut the number of visitors while still meeting the demand, like online presentations or other hi-tech ways to showcase the palace,” said Kunker Tashi, deputy director of management of Potala Palace.
Since 1989, the central government has invested over US$30 million into a long-term restoration program.
“We have a team of painters, carpenters and bricklayers, which renovates the palace and does maintenance work. Each year, 3 million to 6 million yuan are spent on repairs, depending on the work required,” Tashi said.
The palace, added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1994, received 830,000 visitors last year.
This July, a new regulation for protecting the Potala Palace was adopted by the legislature of the Tibet Autonomous Region, containing articles on the planning, administration, research and protection of the structure.
Also kept under a protective eye is the nearby Jokhang Temple and its surrounding Barkhor Street in central Lhasa, also a tourist hotspot and world heritage site.
“The Committee was formed in 2012 with the aim of protecting old districts in Lhasa, especially around Barkhor Street. We restored many traditional Tibetan architectural features, like the Tibetan-style windows and also added traditional elements to the street lamps,” said Cao Pengcheng, deputy director of City Management Committee At Barkhor.
Like Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple was built by Tibetan King Songtsa Gambo, in the seventh century, for his two wives.
Today, it serves as the spiritual center and holiest destination for Tibetan Buddhist pilgrims, attracting tourists from near and far.
At Potala Palace, visitors say they are hopeful more renovation work will be done to preserve the architectural wonder for generations to come.
“The palace should be preserved. It’s an important part of China’s cultural diversity and a symbol of Buddhism. We enjoyed the tour and I hope future generations can also come and admire the building and its displays, which I believe will teach them something in life,” said Li Song, a tourist from Ningxia.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
