It is situated 5km's distance to the western suburb of Lhasa at the foot Mt. Ganpoi Uze. Drepung Monastery was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Choje, a disciple of Tsongkapa, the founder of Gelugpa Sect. The monastery, occupying an area of 250,000 square metres with a fixed number of 7,700 monks, is the largest monastery in Tibet. It used to be the living palace of Dalai Lamas before the reconstruction of Potala palace (after the 5th Dalai Lamas was bestowed by Qing emperor Qianlong). The monastery keeps plentiful historical relics ,Buddhist scriptures, arts and crafts.

On the 1st day of Shonton Festival, usually at the early of August, the giant Thangkas of the Buddha will be displayed at Drepung Monastery. It will be the busiest day with crowded people and heavy traffic. When the sun rises, the huge Thangkas will extend to the half of the mountain. The Tibetan will pray under the Thangkas and circle it in a long queue. At last Giant Living Buddha will touch their head to oblige blessing to them.

Entrance ticket costs 55RMB Per person.