Giant Buddha Temple

The Giant Buddha Temple (Dafo Temple) in Zhangye city, about 600 kilometers west of Gansu's provincial capital Lanzhou, is named after a statue worshiped inside. The temple, also known as "Wofo Temple" (Sleeping Buddha Temple), is very famous because it contains the biggest indoor sleeping Buddha in all of China. The buddha is 34.5 meter long and its shoulder spans across a width of 7.5 meters. Up to eight people can stand on the ear of the reclining Buddha.

Established in 1098 (Western Xia Dynasty), it was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Due to its extensive history, it is listed as an immovable cultural relic under state protection.Located in the northeast of Zhangye city, Dafo Temple, also known as "Wofo Temple" (Sleeping Buddha Temple) is very famous because it contains the biggest indoor sleeping Buddha in all of China. The buddha is 34.5 meter long and its shoulder spans across a width of 7.5 meters. Established in 1098 (Western Xia Dynasty), it was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Due to its extensive history, it is listed as an immovable cultural relic under state protection.

The existing complex consists of the Giant Buddha Hall, the Buddhist Classics Hall, and a Clay Pagoda. The two-storied Giant Buddha Hall is 33 meters high, 49 meters wide and 24 meters long, with a total area of 1770 square meters. The gold-plated and painted Giant Buddha lies in the Nirvana situation in the middle of the hall. The whole Buddha is 34.5 meters long and 7.5 meters wide between its two shoulders, with feet of 4 meters and ears of 2 meters. The Buddha's calm expression moves visitors. Behind the Buddha are 10 disciples, and in two side halls stand 18 Saintly Warriors. The walls of the hall are covered with colorful murals, which depict episodes from the Mountain-sea Sutra (an ancient Chinese encyclopedia) and from Journey to the West (a celebrated novel written in the Ming Dynasty).

In the Buddhist Classics Hall, there are more than 6000 tomes of lectures, some of which, written in gold and silver, are the rarest and most precious. The Clay Pagoda, one of the Five Elements Pagodas in Zhangye, has 13 stories, on the first and the second stories of which are four miniature pagodas, a feature rarely seen in other pagodas.

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