The Potala Palace (布达拉宫) used to be the residence of the Dalai Lama, until the 14th Dalai Lama left Tibet in 1959. It is also the official headquarter of the Caesaropapism for the Tibet Prefecture since the time of 5th Dalai Lama.
This site was used as a meditation retreat by King Songtsen Gampo, who built the first palace in 637, in order to greet his bride Princess WenCheng of the Tang Dynasty of China. Since the time of the 5th Dalai Lama, this palace was extended many times until today. It has now thirteen stories, containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues.
The palace consists of the white palace, which was the living quarters of the Dalai Lama, and the Red Palace, which is devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer.