This undated file photo shows the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. (PHOTO / VCG)

LHASA - The Potala Palace, a landmark in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous region, held a live streaming tour session Sunday, the first time in its over 1,300-year history.

The online tour started at around 2:00 pm on China's popular e-commerce platform Taobao

The Potala Palace, built in the seventh century, is a model of ancient architecture and home to over 100,000 pieces of cultural relics. The palace, a UNESCO world heritage, has been shut down since Jan. 27 to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

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The online tour started at around 2:00 pm on China's popular e-commerce platform Taobao, according to the palace's management authority. A guide from its management bureau introduced via live streaming the palace's history at the foot of the mountain where it was built.

In a one-hour session, the tour guide led viewers to visit the classical route and explained the craftsmanship of its architecture and cultural relics protection there.

The tour also gave a rare glimpse into the digitalization of ancient classics in the palace and its golden roof.

This photo taken, Jan 27, 2020, shows the Potala Palace in Tibet autonomous region. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

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It is estimated that the live streaming received about 920,000 views, more than half of the total visits the palace receives a year.

The palace is expected to hold other live-streaming sessions on the exhibitions of its cultural relics in the future, according to its management bureau. 

A couple poses for wedding photos on the square of the Potala Palace during the National Day holiday in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 6, 2019. (PHOTO / XINHUA)