It's hard to miss Potala Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This grand, imposing structure stands more than 12,000 feet above sea level on Marpo-ri, or Red Hill, in the middle of central Lhasa.

The Potala Palace is the biggest extant lamasery in China. Inside the Potala the hails housing chortens are holy places and therefore their roofs are gilded. Kept there are chortens of the fifth ...