Drepung Monastery... some information...

About 4 miles West of central Lhasa this was at one time the worlds largest monastery. It was home to around 10,000 monks at the time of the Chinese take over in 1951.The word Drepung literally translates as 'rice heap', a reference to the large numbers of monastic buildings that once piled up on the hillsides. The complex is still the size of a large village, set back in it's own valley. The upper half of the valley it has all to itself, while the lower half contains Nechung Monastery. While many of the residential buildings were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution there are still many beautiful chapels and temples intact here. Supposedly rebuilding and resttlement continues here at a pace unmatched at other monasterys in Tibet. Today there are about 1,000 monks residing at Drepung. Drepung was founded in 1416, and in 1530 the 2nd Dalai Lama built the Ganden Palace here, which housed all the Dalai Lamas until the 5th built the Potala. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Dalai Lamas are all entombed here. There are more than a dozen different chapels and temples open for exploring. It is a vast labyrinth of a place with a very high and mysterious feel.