The great stupa of Gyantse, about 100 miles south-west of Lhasa, is considered the chief wonder of the Tibetan Buddhist world in that it records iconographically within its 75 chapels and temples practically the whole pantheon of Indo-Tibetan religion up to the time of its construction during the first half of the 15th century. Built by the princes of Gyantse, it is the most important surviving Tibetan monument to predate the establishment of the Dalai Lamas' theocracy in Lhasa and the construction of the Potala Palace.