Situated in the western suburb of Lhasa, Drepung Monastery is known as the most important monastery of Gelugpa in Tibetan Bud­dhism. Covering an enor­mous area of 239,234 square feet, the monastery in its heyday housed 7,700 monks. Seen from afar, the imposing white structure gives the ap­pearance of a heap of rice, hence the name Drepung Monastery, which means "Monastery of Collecting Rice." The monastery was established in 1416, and with the support of pluto­crats, it developed into the richest religious community of Gelugpa. In 1464, seven zhacangx (academies or schools) were set up in the monastery to teach classical sutras.

Situated at the center of the monastery is the great Coqen Hall, which is sup­ported by 183 finely deco- rated pillars. The second floor of the hall houses the most precious treasure in the monastery—a huge bronze statue of Qamba Buddha—while the third floor houses a dextro triton, another Buddhist treasure. (A dextro triton is a triton whose shell curves in the clockwise direction. Since dextro tritons are extremely rare in nature—about 1 in every 100,000—they are highly treasured by Tibetan Buddhists.) The walls of the hall are painted with ex­traordinary murals, making it one of the most famous sightseeing spots in Tibet.