Dafo Temple

The Dafo Temple (Giant Buddha Temple) contains the largest indoor reclining Buddha in China, a 34.5-metre lacquered figure painted in glowing colours and resting in a hall built specifically around it. The Buddha reclines in the parinirvana posture — the moment of final enlightenment and death — with eyes half-closed and an expression of absolute stillness. The scale is genuinely impressive: standing at the feet and looking up the length of the body, the proportions of the hall seem almost modest.

The surrounding complex has been well-maintained and includes several smaller chapels and halls with painted statues and Tang-dynasty style murals. The temple grounds are calm and uncluttered. It is a short walk from the city centre and combines well with the nearby Zhangye Museum, which covers the history of the Hexi Corridor in some depth.

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A story
The reclining Buddha was originally built during the Western Xia dynasty in the early twelfth century and was reportedly visited by Marco Polo during his stay in Zhangye in the 1270s, when the city was an important waypoint on the Silk Road. Marco Polo described seeing a large idol of a reclining figure — almost certainly this one — and recorded that the attending monks assured him it was sleeping, not dead. The figure has been repainted and restored many times since, but the structure itself dates to the Xia.

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