The majestic Potala Palace, Tibet's most famous building, will soon have a visitor center, according to information from the cultural relics bureau of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

With visitors flocking to Potala Palace following the inauguration of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway on July 1, the famous palace is reeling under the onslaught.

The new visitor center, which will be completed next year, will have a lounge and a projection hall screening films about the history of Potala Palace and its treasures.

Work on the center has already begun.

"Visitors will be able to rest in the 471-sq-m reception center before they queue to enter the palace," said a spokesman from the cultural relics bureau.

To protect Potala Palace, administrators are restricting daily entries to 2,300 tourists. Tour groups will be granted 1,600 entries and the remainder will be distributed among Tibetans and individual tourists.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2006)