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Although it was first constructed in the 7th century, the Potala Palace was almost totally destroyed by fire in a thunderstorm. During the rule of the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century, large-scale reconstruction began on the original site. Renovation of sorts was carried out by several of the succfessive Dalai Lamas, but never on a scale as that which took place during the last few years. The present architectural group covers 41 hectares of land and consists chiefly of the 13 storeyed, 117 meter tall red and white palaces, towering over the city of Lhasa from a mountain top.
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Asia
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