Tibet's Potala Palace needs urgent repairs
( 2001-08-16 12:07 ) (7 )

potala palace in the sunrise potala

The Potala Palace in Tibet, formerly the winter residence of the Dalai Lama and the most famous building in the Himalayan region, is in urgent need of repair, a report said on Thursday.

Restored once already from 1989 to 1994, the wooden building which sits atop a hill in the heart of Lhasa, is crumbling again, the South China Morning Post reported from the Tibetan capital.

A large tract of wall collapsed after heavy rains last month at the second-most important building to the Tibetans, after the Jokhang Temple, the Post reported.

Once the centre religious activities in Tibet, the building was the home of the Tibetans spirital leaders since it was built in 1645 by the fifth Dalai Lama.

The Potala, which also used to be the government treasury, is now a museum and believed to house one of the world's biggest treasure collections of 70,000 relics, many of which are considered invaluable by Buddhists, and international art collectors.

The director of the palace's administrative department, Qiangba Gesang, told the Post that apart from erosion and decay the building was also threatened by mice.

"There are naturally numerous holes. There are also so many stupatombs. Mice just love such an environment," he said.

But as devout Buddhists the monks are forbidden to kill any creature. Therefore "we have to hire people from outside to get rid of the mice," Gesang said.

The hundreds of tourists and pilgrims who visit the palace every year have also taken a toll on the ancient structure with the heat from their bodies and breath causing humidity levels to rise, threatening the ancient artifacts.

Potala Palace had 220,000 visitors in 2000 and 190,000 by the end of July this year.

And the Potala may have modern surveillance equipment to protect its treasures and detect fire.