<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> (show) Transcriptions </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Wylie </Th> <Td> pho dang potala </Td> </Tr> <P> The Potala Palace (Tibetan: ཕོ ་ བྲང ་ པོ ་ ཏ ་ ལ ་, Wylie: pho brang Potala) in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China was the residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising . It is now a museum and World Heritage Site . </P> <P> The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara . The 5th Dalai Lama started its construction in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (died 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa . It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress called the White or Red Palace on the site, built by Songtsän Gampo in 637 . </P>

Situated in tibet this used to be the official residence of dalai lama till 1959