Potala Palace 1 yr from online ticket booking

Lhasa (CNS) -- An online ticket booking system for the Potala Palace is likely to be put into operation in 2013, a manager at this world heritage told CNS on Friday.

The Tibetan authority fixed the upper limit for daily visits at 4,000, and all tickets must be ordered in advance. The move is meant to ease the tensions of long queues in front of this Buddhist holy place, which typically becomes acute in the peak season between May and October.

In preparation for two years, the online system still needs a year before formal function.

The visiting hours for the Potala Palace stretch between 7:30 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. No more than 100 visitors are allowed to enter the palace every 20 minutes, and the duration of a visit is restricted to one hour.