Potala Palace tickets can be booked with ID cards one day in advance

　　BEIJING, Sept. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Tourists can book tickets to the Potala Palace in downtown Lhasa with their ID cards one day ahead of their visit, said a leading official with the Management Office of the popular tourist attraction.

　　Built in 637 by a Tubo king and located at an altitude of 3,700 m, the palace was the winter palace of the Dalai Lamas until the 14th Dalai Lama. Designated as World Culture Heritage by UNESCO in 2003, it is a must-see for tourists from home and aboard.

　　PBelievers pray in front of Potala Palace in Lhasa, capital of southwest China‘s Tibet Autonomous Region, Feb. 17, 2009.(Xinhua Photo)

　　Champa Kelzang, director of the Management Office of the Potala Palace, also reminded visitors of being cheated by scalpers.

　　The palace opens 12 hours a day and the ticket costs 100 yuan (14.65 U.S. dollars), Kelzang said.

　　Do not believe what the scalpers said that "you won‘t be able to buy tickets on your own even for a month," Kelzang added.

　　To protect the ancient building, the Potala Palace began in 2003 to limit the number of tourists to 2,300 per day, thus making the tickets hard to get during the peak tourist season.