Drepung Monastery, Lhasa, the largest monastery in Tibet, a secret spot for flower viewing in spring

📍In Lhasa, Drepung Monastery is a low-key but prominent monastery. It is not only the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Tibet, but also the "alma mater" of successive Dalai Lamas and the monastery where the most Panchen Lamas have resided.✅ 🏯Drepung Monastery, founded in 1416 AD, is fully named "Pelden Drepung", which means "Rice Heap Monastery" in Tibetan. The entire monastery is built on a mountainside and is of a grand scale. It mainly consists of the Coqen Hall➕Ganden Podrang Palace➕four Dratsangs➕29 Kamtsuns. The monastery houses a large number of Buddhist scriptures, Buddha statues, Thangkas, ritual instruments, offering vessels, and murals. In its heyday, the monastery had over 10,000 monks, 141 manors, and more than 540 pastures.✅ 🌟Highlights: 1️⃣Buddha Unfurling Platform: Every year during the Shoton Festival at the end of the sixth month of the Tibetan calendar, the monks in the monastery display a huge Thangka of Buddha, known as "Buddha Unfurling." This is also the best place to overlook the entire Lhasa.✅ 2️⃣Debating Courtyard: Many people know that the Sera Monastery is famous for its debates. In fact, Drepung Monastery also has debates every afternoon.✅ 3️⃣Flower Viewing: Visiting Drepung Monastery from March to April allows you to not only experience the solemnity of the ancient temple, but also encounter the peach blossoms in the ancient temple, which is incredibly beautiful.✅ 4️⃣Coqen Hall: The core building, the hall has 183 exquisitely carved pillars and enshrines the right-turning conch shell (temple treasure), the White Umbrella Buddha statue, and the stupas of the first to fourth Dalai Lamas.✅ 5️⃣Ganden Podrang: Once the residence and political center of the Fifth Dalai Lama, it witnessed the history of the integration of politics and religion.✅ 6️⃣Jampa Buddha Hall: It enshrines the Jampa Buddha statue personally consecrated by Master Tsongkhapa and is considered one of the most sacred Jampa Buddha statues in Tibet.✅ 7️⃣The Largest Kitchen in Tibet: The giant kitchen, which once provided food for tens of thousands of monks, still retains cooking utensils, showcasing the grand scale of the monastery in its heyday.✅ 🔷Nearby: Nechung Monastery. If you have time, you can visit it. Located southeast of Drepung Monastery, it was once a famous Buddhist institution of higher learning in Tibet. Many lamas took the Geshe degree here every year. Now it is the Tibet Buddhist College, and the murals in the main hall and corridors are very distinctive.✅ ⚠️Tips: Try to go early, because it's really big and you have to climb up and down constantly. The high altitude is very tiring, and some halls close around 3:30 pm. I went a little late and missed a lot.😅 🎫Tickets: 60 yuan✅ ⏱️Opening hours: 09:00-16:00✅ 🚘Transportation: 🚌Take bus No. 16, 17, 24, 25, 34, or L1 to Drepung Monastery Station; 🛻Drive and navigate to the monastery, there is a parking lot at the entrance.🅿️