English: Great Assembly Hall covering 4,500 square meters and supported by 183 pillars in the center of the monastery, is the best known, most powerful tschomen of all the monasteries in Tibet. It can seat 8,000 monks. In addition, a great deal of ancient books and sutras are preserved in the monastery. Depung Monastery. Lhasa, Tibet It is located on the hillside of Gambo Utse Mountain 5 kilometers northwest of Lhasa. The monastery was founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa under the patronage of a noble family and later enlarged by the 5th Dalai Lama. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Dalai Lama's once stayed here. In the ninth year (1530) of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Ganden Palace (Ganden Potrang) was built as the living room of the Dalai Lama, who took charge of the power over major religious and political issues in Tibet.