Giant Buddha Temple

» Zhangye, Gan Su

Giant Buddha Temple Overview & Map Weather Transportation Information

Giant Buddha Temple stands in the historic city of Zhangye which lies midway in the Hexi Corridor along the Silk Road. Located in the southwest part of downtown of Zhangye City in Gansu Province, it is well known for the remains of China's biggest indoor sculpture reclining of Nirvana Buddha. The Zhangye Museum is also located here.

The Temple was initially built in 1098. Historic Literature records that Wei Mie, a Great Master in West Xia State, unearthed a gold statue of reclining Buddha covered by jade tile, and then built this temple there to house the Buddha. In its 900 years the temple was restored many times during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The existing structures include the Grand Buddha Hall, Scripture Tower and the Earth Tower. Inside the Grand Buddha Hall lies the reclining statue of Nirvana Buddha which is 34.5 meters long with the shoulder of 7.5 meters wide, foot of 4 meters and ear of 2 meters long. Decorated with the golden and colored patterns, it is vivid in lifestyle, looking awake but sleeping in fact.

The 10 disciples are sculptured behind the reclining Buddha, and the 18 arhats standing at the both sides of the porch. On the wall of inside Hall painted the murals about the Journey To The West (a celebrated novel written in the Ming Dynasty) and the Classics of Mountains and Rivers (an ancient Chinese encyclopedia). More than 6000 volumes of sutra bestowed by Emperor Ying Zong of Ming Dynasty are kept well, among which the collections written with the gold and silver powder are invaluable.

The Earth Towe is one of the Five Elements Pagodas in Zhangye City, has 13 stories, on the first and the second stories of which are four miniature pagodas, a feature rarely seen in other pagodas.

It is said that the Bieji Queen (a famous queen of the Yuan Dynasty) once lived in the Giant Buddha Temple, giving birth to Kublai Khan there. At the end of Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Xian, Gong Zong, became a monk here to avoid the misfortune after his captivity.

The Italian traveler Marco Polo, impressed by the magnificent architecture of the Giant Buddha Temple and by the prosperity of Zhangye City, lived here for more than a year.

Attractions around » Zhangye, Gan Su

Natural Scene

• Qilian Mountains

Historical Site

• Giant Buddha Temple

Giant Buddha Temple Highlights

Grottoes attraction highlights

• Mogao Grottoes
• Leshan Giant Buddha
• Longmen Grottoes
• Maijishan Grottoes
• Kizilgaha Thousand Buddha Cave
• Binglingsi Grottoes
• Dazu Rock Carvings
• Giant Buddha Temple
• Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves
• Yulin Grottoes

city highlights

• Dunhuang
• Luoyang
• Tianshui
• Leshan

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