Giant Buddha Temple

Located in the southwest corner of Zhangye City, Gansu Province, the Great Buddha Temple Scenic Area is an important scenic spot on the Silk Road. Covering an area of more than 30,000 square meters, Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple is the largest and the best-preserved landmark building temple of Xixia Royal Family in China, and it is also a famous landmark of Golden Zhangye, historical and cultural city.

Giant Buddha Temple in Zhangye contains Giant Buddha Hall, statue of sleeping Buddha and Yongle Beicang. The Giant Buddha Hall is the largest Buddhist building of Xixia in China. The statue of the sleeping Buddha in Giant Buddha Temple is the largest indoor wooden-tire clay reclining Buddha in Asia. And the Yongle Beicang is the most complete first-printed book in China. With more than 10,000 precious cultural relics, there are architectures, sculptures, murals and classics in the Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple.

As an outstanding representative of China's historical and cultural heritage, Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple embodies the hard work and wisdom of ancestors of China. It is with high scientific, historical and artistic values and is a vivid historical book for studying the history and culture of Xixia and the multi-ethnic integration of Zhangye. The temple is full of ancient buildings, towering old trees, shady green grass and beautiful environment.
 

Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple was built in 1098 during the Western Xia Regime with a history of over 900 years. Its name has changed several times. It was named "Kasyapa Buddha Temple", "Bojue Temple", "Hongren Temple", etc.. As there is a large reclining Buddha, so people call it "Reclining Buddha Temple" or " Big Buddha Temple." In 1996, it was listed in the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
 

History of Giant Buddha Temple

Zhangye was called as "Ganzhou” in ancient times. It had been the capital of Hugu Regime since rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, knowing as Ganzhou. In1028, Dangxiang people who built Western Xia Regime around Yinchuan conquered Gangzhou. Eight years later, Western Xia occupied the whole Hexi Corridor. In order to strengthen the operation and management of Hexi corridor, the Western Xia Regime take active measures to promote series of localization policies, including the construction of temples and translation of buddhist scriptures. During the reign of Li Qiangshun, Western Xia was very prosperous, and the Dafo Temple during this period.

 

What to See in Giant Buddha Temple

Giant Buddha Temple covers an area of about 23000 square meters, facing west. The existing architectures in the Giant Buddha Temple are the Giant Buddha Hall, the Buddhist Classics Hall and the Clay Pagoda.

Best Time to Visit the Giant Buddha Temple

The best time to visit Zhangye and Giant Buddha Temple is from May to October with pleasant climate and most beautiful colors of the Danxia landform. And Giant Buddha Temple is usually connected with the Zhangye UNESCO Geopark.

During a day, an hour after the sunrise(5:30-7:00) and an hour before the sunset(18:00-20:00) is the best time to visit the Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot in Zhangye UNESCO Geopark with soft sunlight and high color saturation. At the time when it is sunny after the rain, the colorful hills of the Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot in Zhangye are more attractive and beautiful.
 

Nearby Attractions

Zhangye UNESCO Geopark
Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot, also known as Qicai Danxia Scenic Spot, is located in Linze and Sunan County, Zhangye City, Gansu Province. With a total area of 50 square kilometers, Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot is 40 kilometers from Zhangye City in the east and 20 kilometers from Linze County in the north. It is known as its colorful landform, cross bedding and spectacular scenes.

Colorful Danxia in Zhangye is the most typical Danxia landform in the arid area of northern China, and it is the only place combining the Danxia landform and colorful hilly landscape in China. Its colorful, ornamental and large area are the highest in China, and it is a combination of male, dangerous, strange, quiet and beautiful. It is one of the most beautiful Danxia landform in China. With its bright and diverse colors, it is also known as the Rainbow Mountain in the world.

How to Get to Giant Buddha Temple

Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple is located near the downtown of Zhangye City, which can be accessible by taxi. And Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple is about 50 kilometers from the Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot, and you can take the taxi to the Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple from Zhangye Colorful Danxia Scenic Spot(about 50 minutes’ drive).