The Little Potala Palace is the nickname of the Putuo Zongsheng Temple of Chengde, Hebei province. The Palace was built in Qing Dynasty and it was a Buddhist temple complex. From 1767 to 1771, during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735-1796), the Palace gained concerns from everywhere during its construction. It is located near the Chengde Summer Resort. Along with the equally famed Puning Temple, it is one of the Eight Outer Temples of Chengde. The temple was modeled after the Potala Palace of Tibet, the old sanctuary of the Dalai Lama built a century earlier. Hence the Putuo Zongsheng has been nicknamed the “Little Potala Palace”. Since it was modeled after the Potala palace, the temple represents a fusion of Chinese and Tibetan architectural styles. The temple complex covers a surface area of some 220,000 square meters, making it one of the largest in China. Many of its halls and pavilions are adorned with copper and gold tiled roofs, adding to the splendor of the site.
The Putuo Zongsheng Temple is part of the “Eight Outer Temples” located in Chengde, which are part of the World Heritage List along with Chengde‘s Mountain Resort. These temples were administered by the Lifan Yuan, an administrative department for the affairs of ethnic minorities such as the Mongolians and Tibetans, hence the different combinations of architectural style which could be seen throughout these Eight Outer Temples in Chengde.
The Little Potala Palace was originally dedicated to Qianlong in order to commemorate his birthday, as well as provide Hebei with a temple of equal size and splendor as the Tibetan Potala Palace. The Putuo Zongsheng temple served more functions than just Buddhist ceremony and festival, however. It was also the location that the emperor would gather meetings of different ethnic envoys found throughout the empire. The location served as a peaceful getaway in contrast to the bustling life of the capital Beijing, as well as complimented the nearby hunting grounds that the emperor would enjoy with his hosts.
The Palace is a part of the World Heritage. You may find the recent Tibetan Buddhism here without going to Tibet. And the area’s beauty will linger on and forget to return.