Religious site · TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION · UNESCO
Drepung Monastery
哲蚌寺 · Zhébàng Sì
About
Once the largest monastery in the world (10,000+ monks). 8 km west of Lhasa. Active Gelugpa monastery; debating courtyard sessions in the afternoon.
Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Chöje, a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa school. At its peak in the 17th century, the monastery housed between 10,000 and 15,000 monks, making it by population the largest Buddhist monastery in the world. The complex sits at the foot of Mt Gambo Utse, eight kilometres west of central Lhasa, a white-and-grey spread of monastic buildings visible from the Lhasa valley floor.
The compound is organised into four monastic colleges (dratsang) — Loseling, Gomang, Deyang, and Ngagpa — each of which functions as a semi-independent academic and residential unit with its own temple, administration, and curriculum. The colleges historically specialised in different areas of Buddhist philosophy and tantric practice; the debate between college traditions was a significant intellectual tradition within Gelugpa monasticism. The Ganden Phodrang within the compound served as the residence of the Dalai Lamas before the Fifth Dalai Lama moved the seat of government to the Potala Palace in the 17th century. The Ganden Phodrang ultimately became the name of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
The monastery was substantially damaged during the Cultural Revolution and subsequently restored. The current monastic population is much smaller than historical numbers but is still several hundred monks. The afternoon monastic debate sessions in the debate courtyard — monks in deep red robes arguing Buddhist logic with the distinctive sharp hand-clap punctuating each point — are open to outside visitors and are the most vivid demonstration of the monastery as a living institution. The Shoton Festival in August includes the unfurling of a giant thangka painting on the hillside above the monastery — a specific feature of Drepung's festival calendar.
How to get there
Bus 24 from Lhasa or hire car (15 km from centre).
When to visit
Morning. The Shoton Festival in August has the giant thangka unveiling.
Other attractions in Lhasa
Itineraries featuring this site
- Tibet — 8 days with permit guidance
8d · Lhasa, Yamdrok, Shigatse and Gyantse — the standard agency-tour Tibet circuit.
- Tibetan Plateau — Lhasa, Shigatse and Everest Base Camp, 10 days
10d · Ten days on the Tibetan Plateau visiting Lhasa's monasteries and palaces, the Tashilhunpo at Shigatse, and the Rongbuk Monastery approach to Everest Base Camp — with practical permit guidance.
- Overnight train romance — soft-sleeper journeys across China, 10 days
10d · Ten days structured around China's overnight soft-sleeper trains — Beijing to Xi'an, Xi'an to Chengdu, Chengdu to Lhasa — experiencing the transition from one landscape to the next at a human pace, through the night.
- Three weeks deep — adds Yunnan and Tibet
21d · Two weeks comprehensive plus Yunnan loop (Kunming, Dali, Lijiang) and a Tibet permit-tour to Lhasa.
Other religious sites in China
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda大雁塔
Tang-dynasty Buddhist pagoda, built 652 CE to house the sutras brought back by Xuanzang. 64m, seven storeys, climbable.
- Donglin Temple (East Forest Monastery)东林寺
One of the most important Buddhist monasteries in Chinese history, founded in 386 CE at the foot of Mount Lu and considered the birthplace of Pure Land Buddhism in China.
- Famen Temple法门寺
1,700-year-old Buddhist temple 110 km west of Xi'an. The 1987 discovery of a finger relic of the Buddha in its underground crypt was a major archaeological event.
- Ganden Monastery甘丹寺
The mother monastery of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, founded in 1409 by Tsongkhapa atop Wangbur Mountain 47 km east of Lhasa, offering sweeping plateau views and an important kora trail.
- Gyantse Kumbum Stupa江孜白居寺
A nine-storey mandala stupa built in 1427 containing 108 chapels on multiple floors, considered one of the finest examples of Tibetan religious architecture and the most important landmark in Gyantse.
- Hanging Temple悬空寺
1,500-year-old wooden temple complex pinned to the side of a 75m cliff at Mt Heng. Engineered with horizontal posts driven into the rock face.
- Jade Buddha Temple玉佛寺
Active urban Buddhist temple in central Shanghai. Famous for two life-size jade Buddhas brought from Burma in 1882.
- Jing'an Temple静安寺
Active Buddhist temple in Shanghai's central financial district, with golden-tiled roofs incongruously beside steel-and-glass towers.
Other UNESCO World Heritage sites in China
- Ancient City of Ping Yao — Heritage Overview平遥古城—文化遗产综览
The walled city of Pingyao, inscribed by UNESCO in 1997, preserves the most complete example of Ming-Qing urban planning in China — its banking heritage, city wall, temples and courtyard residences forming a cohesive historical ensemble.
- Ancient Villages of Southern Anhui — Xidi and Hongcun皖南古村落—西递、宏村
UNESCO-listed pair of Ming-Qing Huizhou merchant villages in southern Anhui, renowned for whitewashed walls, inky horsehead gables and moon-shaped ponds.
- Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City良渚古城遗址
UNESCO-listed archaeological site in Hangzhou preserving the remains of a 5,000-year-old city with a sophisticated water-management system, jade ritual culture and social hierarchy — regarded as one of the earliest state-level societies in East Asia.
- Badain Jaran Desert — Lakes and Dunes巴丹吉林沙漠—沙山湖泊群
UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in Inner Mongolia — the third largest desert in China, featuring some of the world's tallest stationary dunes and a unique network of freshwater and saline lakes sustained by a still-unexplained subterranean water system.
- Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom高句丽王城、王陵及贵族墓葬
UNESCO-listed capital cities and royal tombs of the Koguryo Kingdom in Jian, Jilin — the Chinese portion of a transnational heritage property shared with North Korea, representing one of the most powerful states of ancient East Asia.
- China Danxia中国丹霞
UNESCO Natural World Heritage site — a serial property of six Danxia landscapes across six provinces, representing China's defining red-cliff-and-pillar sandstone landform type, including Danxia Mountain, Zhangye, Taining and Langshan.
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou (UNESCO)苏州古典园林
UNESCO-listed collection of private gardens in Suzhou — four inscribed in 1997 and five more added in 2000 — representing the pinnacle of Chinese garden design through the refined integration of architecture, water, rock and plant.
- Couple's Retreat Garden耦园
UNESCO-listed Suzhou garden organised symmetrically around a central residence. Less crowded than the four most-visited gardens.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Drepung Monastery cost to visit?
- Adult entry to Drepung Monastery is ¥50, ¥25 for children.
- When is Drepung Monastery open?
- Drepung Monastery opening hours: 9am–5pm.
- How long do you need at Drepung Monastery?
- Allow 2–3 hours for Drepung Monastery. Add buffer time if you plan to visit at peak season or include nearby sights in the same trip.
- When is the best time to visit Drepung Monastery?
- Morning. The Shoton Festival in August has the giant thangka unveiling.
- How do you get to Drepung Monastery?
- Bus 24 from Lhasa or hire car (15 km from centre).
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