During the summer and autumn months, the parks in Tibet, including the Norbulingka, become hubs of entertainment with dancing, singing, music and festivities.

The word lingka (Tibetan: གླིང་ག, Wylie: gling ga) is commonly used in Tibet to define all horticultural parks in Lhasa and other cities.

When construction of the palace was started (during the 7th Dalai Lama's period) in the 1740s, the site was a barren land, overgrown with weeds and scrub and infested with wild animals.

[6] The park, situated at an elevation of 3,650 metres (11,980 ft) had flower gardens of roses, petunias, hollyhocks, marigolds, chrysanthemums and rows of herbs in pots and rare plants.

[7] The gardens are a favorite picnic spot, and provide for a beautiful venue for theater, dancing and festivals, particularly the Shodun or 'Yogurt Festival' at the beginning of August, with families camping in the grounds for days, surrounded by colorful makeshift windbreaks of rugs and scarves while enjoying the height of summer weather.

The Norbulingka Park and Summer Palace were completed in 1783 under Jampel Gyatso, the 8th Dalai Lama, on the outskirts of Lhasa.

The earliest history of Norbulingka is traced originally to a spring at this location, which was used during the summer months by the 7th Dalai Lama to cure his health problems.

The Qing dynasty permitted the Dalai Lama to build a palace at this location for his stay, as a resting pavilion.

[7] It was from the Norbulingka palace that the Dalai Lama escaped to India on 17 March 1959, under the strong belief that he would be captured by the Chinese.

On this day, the Dalai Lama dressed like an ordinary Tibetan, and, carrying a rifle across his shoulder, left the Norbulinga palace and Tibet to seek asylum in India.

According to Reuters, “The Dalai Lama and his officials, who had also escaped from the palace, rode out of the city on horses to join his family for the trek to India”.

The party journeyed through the Himalayas for two weeks, and finally crossed the Indian border where they received political asylum.

The 8th Dalai Lama, Jamphel Gyatso (1758–1804) substantially enlarged the palace by adding three temples and the perimeter walls on the south east sector and the park also came to life with plantation of fruit trees and evergreens brought from various parts of Tibet.

The 13th Dalai Lama was responsible for architectural modifications, including the large red doors to the palace;[1] he also improved the Chensel Lingkha garden to the northwest.

[5]: 93 [6][15] The earliest building is the Kelsang Palace built by the Seventh Dalai Lama which is "a beautiful example of Yellow Hat architecture.

Dalai Lamas watched, from the first floor of this palace, the folk operas held opposite to the Khamsum Zilnon during the Shoton festival.

A horse stable and a row of four houses contained the gifts received by the Dalai Lamas from the Chinese emperors and other foreign dignitaries.

[17] However, in 2001, the Central Committee of the Chinese Government in its 4th Tibet Session resolved to restore the complex to its original glory.

On 14 December 2001, UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site as part of the "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace".

The festival is celebrated during the seventh month in the first seven days of the Full Moon period, which corresponds to dates in July/August according to the Gregorian calendar.

The week-long festivities are marked by eating and drinking, with Ache Lhamo, the Tibetan opera performances as the highlight, held in the park and other venues in the city.

The Dalai Lama used to be escorted in a glittering procession to spend 6 months of the summer season in the Norbulingka Palace.