As one of the most important festivals in Tibet, Shoton festival is a happy day for all Tibetans. Besides the grand ceremony of sunning Buddha's portrait, people may also enjoy the jubilant Tibetan opera performance, yak matches, and many other pleasures. Potala Palace The Potala Palace, built on the Potala Hill (Red Hill), is an extremely magnificent castle. Work to construct it began in 7th century of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in honor of the Tang Princess Wenchen who was sent to marry Zhanpu King of Tufen Kingdom in Tibet. However, the original palace was destroyed by lightning and war damage during Landama's reign. In 17th century under the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Potala was rebuilt. The 13th Dalai Lama extended it to its present size of 115 meters in height and 360 meters in width.The outer walls of the central part of the Potala Palace are painted red, earning it the name of the Red Palace. Inside is the stupa hall containing stupa for the Dalai Lamas of all ages, as well as Buddhist halls. The east and west of the Red Palace are linked to the east and west White Palaces. The east White Palace holds the living area of the Dalai Lamas, while the west White Palace serves as monks' living quarters. Extending forward from the lower part of the Red Palace is a white terrace linking the east and west White Palaces, inside of which are various storage areas. The Red Palace is the highest and the largest. In the middle, there is a concave balcony belt running through the upper and lower parts, along with many gilded copper-tile roofed small halls on the flat-top, which enrich the composition of the whole palace and naturally become the composition center commanding the entire area. A dark brown wall belt runs horizontally on the upper end of the palace, making the outline of the structure more distinct while echoing the Red Palace in color. Below the dark brown wall belt of the Red Palace is a white wall belt echoing the wall surface of the White Palace. The structure is in tacit agreement with the chevron. The middle part of the front edge, set back a bit along with the hill, is the highest point of the structure right at the peak of the hill. The outer wall is inlaid with stones, its surface clearly inclined and appearing natural and steady. All these are close to the composition texture of natural hill stones. There is no distinct demarcation between the footing of the structures and the hill, man's work and nature in harmony and tacit agreement. The majestic, brilliant, magnificent and uninhibited Potala Palace has a strong artistic appeal and is an architectural art treasure that can be shown off to the world. Dazhao Temple The Dazhao Temple is located at the center of Lahsa City, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The temple, covering an area of over 25,000 square meters, includes buildings like the Hall of Sakyamuni, the Hall for Worshiping Buddha and bKa'-gshags governmental agencies. The Hall of Sakyamuni is the most important in the temple. The three-story hall enshrines a statue of Sakyamuni, which Tang Dynasty Princess Wencheng brought to Lhasa. The dooryard of the Hall of Sakyamuni is not large in terms of area. In the east of the dooryard there is a mandala surrounded by 24 giant columns, which served as a meeting place in front of the Hall for Worshiping Buddha. There are two-story corridors in east, south and north outside. On the west side of the Hall of Sakyamuni there is a courtyard walled by a two-story building with a corridor as its outskirt. The temple adopted the Han nationality architectural style of the Tang Dynasty in several aspects such as roof beams, sunk panels, and wooden square blocks inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam while the eaves of interior corridor are decorated with rows of divine animals and wooden sphinx carvings assume the flavor of architectures from Western Regions. Tibetan frescoes were painted all around the corridor and the halls' walls, describing Princess Wencheng entering Tibet and other historical facts. The total length of these frescoes is about 1,000 meters, and of high historical and artistic value, according to experts. In front of the Dazhao Temple gate, there is a stele[WHAT IS THIS?] engraved with historical record of the Alliance between the Tang Dynasty and the Tubo Kingdom in the year of 823, and the Princess Willow Tree. Legend has it that when Tang Dynasty Princess Wencheng was married in Tubo, she planted this willow tree. All this has become historic testimony for the unity between Chinese Han and Tibet nationality, and the Tang Dynasty -- Tubo Kingdom Alliance Stele is the important historic substantial material for the research into the Han-Tibet exchange in the Tang Dynasty. The architecture of the Dazhao Temple is splendid, making the old Lhasa City assume a strong religious atmosphere. Barkhor Barkhor, a circular street at the center of Old Lhasa, is the oldest street in a very traditional city in Tibet. It is a place where Tibetan culture, economy, religion, and art assemble. Barkhor is the road which pilgrims tramped out around Jokhang Temple through centuries. Buddhist pilgrims walk or progress by body-lengths along the street clockwise every day into deep night. Most of Lhasa's floating population is comprised of these pilgrims. The pilgrims walk outside four columns on which colorful scripture streamers are hung, a custom that began in the Tubo period (633-877) as a way to show respect. Barkhor, the sacred pilgrim path, is also a marketplace where shaggy nomads, traders, robed monks and chanting pilgrims join together. Clustered shops and stalls sell printed scriptures, cloth prayer flags and other religious vessels, jewelry, Tibetan knives, ancient coins and other Tibetan relics.