The Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet () stands in the southern part of the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region just outside the protective zone and buffer zone of the World Heritage Site. Décision-25COM X.B-Ensemble historique du Palais du Potala, Lhasa (Extension pour inclure la zone de Norbulingka (Chine), 2001 : Regarding the 35 m high tower commemorating "the peaceful liberation of Tibet", the UNESCO mission verified that this new construction was well located outside the protection zones of the World Heritage site, on the south side of the New Potala Square. It celebrates what the People's Republic of China calls the "Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" by the People's Liberation Army,To Zhu Weiqun, Executive Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, "The peaceful liberation of Tibet completed the liberation and unification of China's mainland and was a victory over imperialist forces and a few upper-class Tibetans who wished to split Tibet from China" » (Peaceful Liberation Ushers in a New Era , BEIJING REVIEW.com.cn, July 25, 2011.) or what the exiled Tibetan government calls the invasion and annexation of Tibet. The foundation stone was laid on July 18, 2001 by Hu Jintao, China's vice-president at the time.Photo: "Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao and other leading members of the central delegation bury the foundation stone of the 'Monument to the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet' at the foundation laying ceremony held on the Potala Palace Square in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Wednesday July 18, 2001." The monument was unveiled on May 22, 2002.Monument Erected to Commemorate Tibet Liberation, op. cit.: "A grand ceremony was held Wednesday in the Potala Palace in Lhasa to unveil the Tibet Peaceful Liberation Monument."
Structure The US $1.7 million, 37-meter-high spire-like concrete structure was designed by Professor Qi Kang of the Southeast University in Nanjing, China. The monument abstractly portrays Mount Everest. The monument bears its own name engraved in the calligraphy of former general secretary and president Jiang Zemin, while an inscription refers to the expelling of "imperialist" forces from Tibet in 1951 (a reference to long-running Anglo-Russian Great-Game designs on the region) and reports on the socio-economic development achieved since then.Monument Erected to Commemorate Tibet Liberation, peopledaily.com.cn, Thursday, May 23, 2002: "The inscription on the monument says the People's Liberation Army expelled the imperialist forces from Tibet in 1951, which led Tibet to advancement, prosperity, democracy and opened a new era." Archived here.
The southern side of the monument is inscribed with an inscription in both Tibetan and Chinese characters, of which the Chinese is as follows:
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See also History of Tibet (1950–present) Tibet (1912–1951)
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