The third stop in Zhangye, Gansu — Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple

Living near the Bell Tower in Zhangye city, you can take bus No. 1 to the Giant Buddha Temple (there is no bus stop sign; only when you see a bus stopping do you know where to wait), but we chose to walk there. The full ticket is 40 yuan, with a 50% discount for those above 60 years old. The ticket office is not located at the main entrance; we had to ask around before finding the window to purchase tickets. The Giant Buddha Temple, locally known as the 'Reclining Buddha Temple,' houses the largest Western Xia Buddhist structure, the Giant Buddha Hall, the largest indoor clay sculpture of a reclining Buddha in Asia, and the most complete first edition of the 'Great Ming Tripitaka North Collection' in China, with over 10,000 precious cultural relics. Covering an area of over 30,000 square meters, the Giant Buddha Temple is the largest and best-preserved royal temple of the Western Xia dynasty and a symbolic architectural monastery of the historic and cultural city 'Golden Zhangye.' In the 16th century, the temple could accommodate four to five thousand people for worship at the same time. The existing buildings include the Giant Buddha Hall, the Sutra Pavilion, and the Earth Pagoda. The Zhangye Giant Buddha Temple has a close relationship with the Western Xia and Yuan royal families. Historical records show that the Empress Dowager of the Western Xia often came to the temple for worship and residence. Legend has it that this place was the birthplace of Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of the Yuan dynasty. His mother, Empress Dowager Chabi, also lived here for a long time, and her coffin was once placed in the temple. At the end of the Southern Song dynasty, Emperor Gong of Song, Zhao Xian, was captured and became a monk here to avoid disaster. The Italian traveler Marco Polo was attracted by the grand architecture of the Giant Buddha Temple and the prosperity of Zhangye, and he stayed for a year. Whether history or legend, perhaps only the reclining Buddha in the temple and the couplet above the door know: The reclining Buddha has been sleeping for a thousand years, forever asleep without waking; The inquirer always asks, through the ages, forever asking without understanding.