Rebuilding of the Potala Palace

Timeline

1. 1645–1648Potala Palace construction site on Red Mountain · LhasaIn 1645 the Fifth Dalai Lama ordered the palace rebuilt on Red Mountain, supervised by Desi Sonam Rabten and others, assembling craftsmen to build the main body of the White Palace, its walls, and watchtowers as the new political-religious seat.
2. 1648–1649White Palace, Potala Palace · LhasaThe main body of the White Palace was completed around 1648, and the Fifth Dalai Lama and his Kashag moved in from Drepung Monastery around 1649; from then on the Potala was fixed as the Dalai Lama's winter palace and the administrative seat of the Ganden Phodrang government.
3. 1690–1694Red Palace, Potala Palace · LhasaDesi Sangye Gyatso began the Red Palace during the concealed mourning, to house the Fifth Dalai Lama's stupa, assembly halls, and golden roofs; it was completed in 1694, giving the White and Red palaces the main outline visible today.
4. 1694Potala Palace · LhasaAfter the Red Palace's completion, later Dalai Lamas continued building stupa halls and ancillary structures. After 1959 the palace became a heritage site and visitor attraction. In 1994 UNESCO inscribed the Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa, on the World Heritage List.