Potala Palace is the traditional residence of the Dalai Lama (the religious leader of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism). The Potala Palace, located in the city of Lhasa, is named after Mount Potala, which is considered to be the sacred abode of the Buddhist deity, Avalokitesvara.
Thirteen stories of buildings—containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues—soar 117 metres (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill," rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor.
The palace functioned as the chief residence of the successive Dalai Lamas until 1959 when the current 14th Dalai Lama fled into exile to live in Dharmasala, India following the Chinese invasion of Tibet. Today, the Potala Palace has been converted into a museum by the Chinese. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.