Abstract：The Potala Palace is one of the most famous cultural heritages in the world. The West Scripture Printing Hall is an important part of the Potala Palace. This paper focuses on describing the investigation on the stability of the West Scripture Printing Hall. Base on the detailed measured data and engineering geological exploration，the characteristics and mechanisms of deformation of the West Scripture Printing Hall have been analyzed. The three-dimensional simulation technique has been applied to analyze the differential subsidence pattern of the West Scripture Printing Hall under the structural load. Furthermore，the damage mechanisms of the structure under the gravity and earthquake load have been achieved. The principle of qualitative zoning assessment to the stability of the structure has also been confirmed. The results of analysis show that the behaviors of the damage and deformation characteristics of the West Scripture Printing Hall under the seismic load and gravity are proved to be very helpful to structural protection analysis and damage control approaches selection.
