中华文化是各民族文化的集大成。我国各民族创作了诗经、楚辞、汉赋、唐诗、宋词、元曲、明清小说等伟大作品，传承了格萨尔王、玛纳斯、江格尔等震撼人心的伟大史诗，建设了万里长城、都江堰、大运河、故宫、布达拉宫、坎儿井等伟大工程。

Chinese culture is an epitome of cultures of various ethnic groups. Our various ethnic groups created great works such as the Book of Songs, the Chu Ci, Han fu (rhymed prose), Tang poems, Song ci poetry, Yuan qu poetry, and Ming and Qing novels, inherited great epics such as King Gesar, Manas, and Jianger, and built great projects such as the Great Wall, Dujiangyan irrigation system, the Grand Canal, the Forbidden City, the Potala Palace, and qanats.

——习近平总书记在2019年全国民族团结进步表彰大会上的讲话

——An excerpt from President Xi Jinping's speech at the National Conference Commending Model Units and Individuals for Contributing to Ethnic Unity and Progress, 2019

布达拉宫，一座有着1300多年历史的宫殿，以独特的建筑艺术和民族文化成为很多人心中的圣殿。

The Potala Palace, with a history of more than 1,300 years, has become a sacred place in the hearts of many people with its unique architectural art and ethnic culture.

历史如川，奔腾不息。公元7世纪初，吐蕃第33代赞普松赞干布统一各部，建立吐蕃地方政权，为中国西南边疆开发作出了重要贡献。

History is like a torrential river, with its water rushing on. In the early 7th century, Songzan Ganbu, the 33rd generation tsenpo or king of Tubo (now Xizang), unified the tribes and established the local authority of Tubo, making important contributions to the development of China's southwestern territory.

为便于管理、巩固政权，松赞干布决定迁都拉萨，修建了一座规模宏大的宫殿，这就是布达拉宫的前身，历史上称为红山宫。吐蕃王朝时期在红山上修建的宫殿，外有三道城墙，内有千座宫室，是吐蕃王朝的政治中心。

In order to facilitate administration and consolidate his ruling, Songzan Ganbu decided to move the capital to Lhasa, which was the precursor of the Potala Palace, historically known as the Red Hill Palace. The palace built on the red hill in that period, with three outer walls and myriad halls inside, was the political center of the Tubo ruling.

公元9世纪，随着吐蕃王朝的解体，布达拉宫逐渐被废弃。1645年，五世达赖决定重建布达拉宫。3年后，布达拉宫土建工程竣工，基本建成了以白宫为主体的建筑群。1653年，五世达赖入住布达拉宫。此后，历代达赖喇嘛都居住在此，重大的政治和宗教仪式也都在这里举行，布达拉宫由此成为西藏政教合一的统治中心。

In the 9th century, with the disintegration of the Tubo-ruled government, the Potala Palace was gradually abandoned. In 1645, the Fifth Dalai Lama decided to rebuild the palace. Three years later, the civil works of the palace were completed, and the complex, with the "White Palace" as the main body, was largely put into place. In 1653, the Fifth Dalai Lama moved into the Potala Palace. Since then, Dalai Lamas of the successive generations lived here, where major political and religious ceremonies were held, thus making it the center of Tibetan theocratic rule.

作为西藏现存最大的宫堡式建筑群，布达拉宫依山垒砌、群楼重叠，红、白、黄三色对比鲜明，突出体现了藏式建筑的魅力。而金碧辉煌的屋顶采用歇山式和攒尖式，又具有汉族建筑风格。整座建筑高大巍峨、特色鲜明，融合了藏、汉、满等民族的建筑工艺和审美风格，成为中华民族古建筑的精华之作。

As the largest palace-fortress-style complex existing in Xizang, the Potala Palace sits on a mountain, with layers upon layers of buildings and three contrasting colors of red, white and yellow, demonstrating the charm of Tibetan-style architecture. The magnificent gilded roofs are of the gable and hip style and the pyramidal style, with features of Han architecture. The whole building is lofty, with distinct characteristics integrating the architectural techniques and aesthetic styles of Tibetan, Han and Manchu ethnic groups, making it a masterpiece of ancient Chinese architecture.

布达拉宫收藏和保存了大量历史文物。除8座金质灵塔外，还有5座精美绝伦的立体坛城，以及瓷器、金银铜器、佛像、佛塔、唐卡、服饰等各类文物约7万余件，典籍6万余函卷（部）。其中，文成公主塑像，记载五世达赖赴京觐见顺治皇帝、十三世达赖觐见光绪皇帝和慈禧太后等场面的壁画，以及用汉、满、藏、蒙古4种文字镌刻的雍正皇帝册封七世达赖喇嘛金印等，都印证着中央政府对西藏地方的管辖治理，见证着西藏人民与内地各族人民之间的友好往来。

A large number of historical relics are collected and preserved in the Potala Palace. Apart from the eight golden pagodas, there are five exquisite three-dimensional Mandalas, as well as porcelain, gold, silver and bronze ware, Buddhist statues, stupas, thangkas, clothing and other types of cultural relics, about 70,000 pieces in total. There are also more than 60,000 volumes (cases) of scriptures. Among the relics, the statue of Princess Wencheng, the frescoes representing the scenes of the the Fifth Dalai Lama's audience with Shunzhi Emperor and the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's audience with the Guangxu Emperor's and Empress Dowager Cixi in Beijing, as well as the golden seal of the Seventh Dalai Lama, engraved in the four scripts of Chinese, Manchu, Tibetan and Mongolian, all testify to the central government's jurisdiction over Xizang and the friendly interactions between people on the plateau and various Chinese ethnic groups outside the plateau.

布达拉宫可以说是一座巨大的藏族绘画艺术博物馆，宫中每一座殿堂的四壁和走廊都布满壁画。这些壁画，不仅记载了丰富多彩的神话、宗教传说，还描绘了文成公主入藏、五世达赖赴京觐见顺治皇帝等重大历史事件，是珍贵的历史资料。

The Potala Palace qualifies a huge museum of Tibetan painting art, with the walls and corridors of every hall in the palace covered with frescoes. These frescoes not only recorded the abundant and a variety of myths and religious legends, but also depicted the major historical events such as Princess Wencheng marrying into Xizang and the Fifth Dalai traveling to Beijing to meet with Emperor Shunzhi, making them precious historical materials.

长近千米的壁画《文成公主入藏图》，生动描绘了文成公主进藏的场景。文成公主进藏时，携带了许多有关天文、历法、医药及各类工艺方面的书籍，还带去了大量精通造纸、酿造等技艺的汉族工匠，为唐蕃之间的经济文化交流作出了巨大贡献。

The nearly 1,000-meter-long fresco "Princess Wencheng Marrying into Xizang" vividly depicted the scenes of the princess entering Xizang. She brought with her many books on astronomy, calendars, medicine and various techniques, as well as a large number of Han craftsmen proficient in papermaking, brewing and other skills, contributing greatly to the economic and cultural interactions between the central and local authorities.

布达拉宫见证了西藏与祖国的密切联系，见证了各民族之间的交往交流交融。

The Potala Palace witnessed the close ties between Xizang and the motherland and the interactions, exchanges and integration among various ethnic groups.

新中国成立后，党和国家极为重视布达拉宫的保护，1961年国务院将布达拉宫确定为第一批全国重点文物保护单位。从上世纪80年代至今，国家投入数亿元，对布达拉宫进行了两次大规模修缮，工程技术人员开展了多项文物维修技术攻关。其保护力度之大、时间跨度之长，在中国文物保护史上是少有的。由于保护得力，布达拉宫这座屹立千年的宫殿，至今仍光彩熠熠。

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party and the government attached great importance to the conservation of the Potala Palace. In 1961, the State Council inscribed it in the first list of national key historical sites under state protection. Since the 1980s, the government has invested hundreds of millions yuan to carry out two major repairs to the Palace and to fund multiple research projects for the maintenance of the cultural relics. The huge effort of conservation and its long time span are rare in the history of China's heritage conservation. Thanks to the effective conservation, the Potala Palace, which has stood for a thousand years, is still in a wonderful condition.

1994年，布达拉宫被联合国教科文组织列入世界文化遗产名录，海内外游客纷至沓来。进入新世纪，布达拉宫成为爱国主义教育基地。人们在这里了解西藏发展的历史变迁，深刻体会“没有共产党就没有社会主义新西藏”。

In 1994, the Potala Palace was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, and tourists from home and abroad came in droves. In the new century, it has become a patriotic education base. Here people learn about the historical changes of Xizang and have a deep understanding of "without the Communist Party there would be no new socialist Xizang".

为了让更多珍贵的古籍文献“活”起来，2019年初，中国计划投入3亿元专项资金，开展为期10年的布达拉宫古籍文献保护利用工程，邀请各领域专家学者共同参与研究工作，利用高科技手段，对珍贵古籍文献进行数字化归档展示，让更多历史文化一脉相承的珍贵古籍文献重获新生，让更多人领略到中华优秀传统文化的魅力。

To bring more precious ancient documents "back to life", in early 2019, China earmarked 300 million yuan for a 10-year project to protect and utilize ancient documents in the Potala Palace, involving experts and scholars from various fields in the research work, and utilizing high-tech means to digitally archive and display precious ancient documents, so that more of them, as a record of history and culture, can be revived and more people can appreciate the charm of the excellent traditional Chinese culture.