The majestic Potala Palace, Tibet's most famous building, will
soon have a visitor center, according to information from the
cultural relics bureau of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous
Region.
With visitors flocking to Potala Palace following the
inauguration of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway on July 1, the famous
palace is reeling under the onslaught.
The new visitor center, which will be completed next year, will
have a lounge and a projection hall screening films about the
history of Potala Palace and its treasures.
Work on the center has already begun.
"Visitors will be able to rest in the 471-sq-m reception center
before they queue to enter the palace," said a spokesman from the
cultural relics bureau.
To protect the Potala Palace, administrators are restricting
daily entries to 2,300 tourists. Tour groups will be granted 1,600
entries and the remainder will be distributed among Tibetans and
individual tourists.
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2006)