Norbulingka Palace is situated in the west of Lhasa, a short distance to the southwest of Potala Palace. Norbulingka covers an area of around 36 hectares (89 acres) and is considered to be the largest man-made garden in Tibet.
Norbulingka was the summer residence of the successive Dalai Lamas from the 1780s up until 1959. When the summer is hot, the Dalai Lamas come here to spend the summer, attend to local government affairs and carry out religious activities. Therefore, it is commonly known as the Summer Palace in Lhasa, which means "Treasure Park" in Tibetan. Norbulingka palace has been mostly identified with the 13th and the 14th Dalai Lamas who commissioned most of the structures seen here now. However, a number of buildings were damaged in 1950. Norbulingka is a key cultural relic protection site in China and was listed as a world cultural heritage in 2001. It was rebuilt beginning in 2003, when the Chinese government initiated renovation works here to restore some of the damaged structures, and also the greenery, the flower gardens, and the lakes.