Starting from July 21, Potala Palace, a well-known UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lhasa, required visitors to reserve tickets one day in advance. It is said that this new policy is made in order to provide a better protection to the site.
Statistic shows that in the first half of 2019, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region received about 13.4 million tourists, with an increase of 20.2 percent year on year. As the most famous scenic spot in Tibet, Potala Palace also receives countless visitors every day. To ensure the safety of this cultural relic, local administration has to control the daily number of visitors. As a result, required reservation would be an effective mean.
For reservation, Potala Palace offers two ways. One is to register and book tickets on its official website, and the only payment method is Alipay. The other is to make reservations at the ticket office one day in advance. The staffs would need your valid identifications, including the second-generation Chinese citizens ID card or a temporary ID card. The number of tickets that one person is allowed to purchase is limited to four, and the tickets could be sold out once it starts the reservation at 8am every day.
The cost of visiting Potala Palace is 200 RMB from May to October, and 100 RMB during the rest of the year.