The Tibetan Medicine Factory and adjoing research facility, known as the Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute or Menteskhang was established in 1916 by the 13th Dalai lama in order to
help organize and disseminate Tibet's ancient traditional medical practices.

Tibetan medicine is a practice anmd theory rooted in Buddhist philosophy and influenced by many different medical traditions, most notably Indian Ayurvedic, the Persian and Greek systems and
Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is practiced throughout the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China and northern India as well as in a few other locations across the world.

Menteskhang is the center for the treatment, training, research and production of Tibetan medicine. The facility has a staff of 450, making it the biggest Tibetan traditional hospital in Tibet and the nearby factory produces at least 350 different types of natural medicines for sale at home and abroad.