Day 50: Zhangye City

Our next city visit was to Zhangye, a strongly agricultural region which also became the second home to a very famous New Zealander, Rewi Alley.

While in Zhangye we visited the Great Buddha Temple. Around 1098AD the emperor's Buddhist tutor, Wei Mie, claimed to have heard heavenly music and followed the sound to the place where he dug out from underground an ancient statue of Buddha in the posture of Nirvana. A temple was then built, The Reclining Buddha Temple, later renamed the Hong Ren meaning "widespread benevolence"; Bao Jue, "Precious enlightenment"; and later again 'Hong Ren', "broad benevolence)". Eventually it became to be known as the Great Buddha Temple.

The Great Buddha Temple holds the largest indoor, clay statue of Buddha Reclining -- as we walked around to it we were told, "That is not a wall: that is his feet!" -- and the most complete first edition of the Tri-pitaka, the classic Buddhist scriptures. There are also many frescoes and thousands of ancient relics stored and on display here.

It was indeed an impressive collection, and that was not all Zhangye has to offer!