Religious Heritage

Since Drepung Monastery’s founding in 15th century, many constructions were made. A great many of monasteries, pagodas, chapels have been well preserved. The most important historical buildings are: Tibet Tours Ganden Potrang, Coqen Hall, the four Zhacangs (or Tantric colleges), and Kamcuns.

Ganden Potrang is a sumptuous palace. It was built by the 2nd Dalai Lama Gendun Gyaco in 1530, and became his presidential palace. The later 3rd, 4th and 5th Dalai Lamas also lived here until the 5th moved to Potala Palace. Ganden Potrang consists of a yard of houses. The main building is a monastery of 3 floors. The first floor is used as holding ceremonies. The second floor is the place where Dalai Lamas works. The third floor is the personal living space for Dalai Lama.

Coqen Hall is situated in the central monastery. Its best feature is the giant bronze statue of Qamba Buddha which was built according the appearance of Qamba Buddha at his age of eight. In front of the Buddha, there is a conch which was gifted by Tsongkhapa.

Zhacang China tour deals is the unite of academy in Gelug schools. It includes meeting hall and Bhudda chapels. There are four Zhacangs in Drepung Monastery studying different instructions of Gelug. Each Zhacang has its own chapels and dormitories. The courtyards of Zhacang are used as the stage for Buddhism Debating.

Historical & Cultural Relics

There are a large number of historical and cultural relics kept in Drepung Monastery. Feature 1 – Chinaware: lots of ornate chinaware from early Song, Ming and Qing Dynasty. Most of them are cups, bowls, and bottles. Feature 2 – Thangka: there are several hundreds of Thangkas mostly made during Ming and Qing Dynasty. The most famous ones are four giant hanging Thangkas themed by the “scholar's four jewels” (China Vacation writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper). Feature 3 – Wenshu Bronzed Mirror: this mirror was carved beautifully with appearance of Wenshu Buddha. The 5th Dalai Lama received as gift from Shunzhi Emperor of Qing. Feature 4 – Buddha Statues: there are thousands of statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, etc.

Shoton Festival

Drepung Monastery is especially known as the site of the annual Shoton Festival, with its dramatic unfurling of a giant Buddha tapestry on the hillside.During the festival, massive tapestries of Buddha hang from the mountainside and the Potala Palace. Monks from different temples spend an entire year constructing the tapestry as a form of meditation.%%@af$ko&we*429


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