Global visitors marvel at Zhangye Dafo Temple

Overseas influencers visit Zhangye Dafo Temple in Gansu province on June 27. [Photo provided to gozhangye.com.cn]

Overseas influencers from Russia, Pakistan, France, Brazil, Mexico, Uzbekistan and other countries visited Zhangye Dafo Temple in Gansu province on June 27, where they were deeply impressed by the millennium‑old monastery and its cultural treasures.

The temple houses Asia's largest indoor reclining Buddha made of clay over a wooden framework, a colossal statue that visitors have described as an incredible historical relic.

 A Mexican influencer filmed the reclining Buddha and the murals, saying that the murals depicting scenes from Journey to the West were created in a distinctive style different from what he was used to and that he wanted to share these rare images with his overseas followers.

A Pakistani visitor who has lived in China for 15 years, expressed great admiration for the temple as the only extant imperial monastery from the Western Xia period (1038-1227).

He called it a living fossil of the Silk Road and a valuable historical artifact for understanding ethnic integration in ancient Northwest China.

Overseas influencers learn a local folk dance at Zhangye Dafo Temple in Gansu province on June 27. [Photo provided to gozhangye.com.cn]

The temple, originally built in 1098 and expanded through subsequent dynasties, covers over 30,000 square meters. It is the largest and best‑preserved Western Xia royal temple in China, featuring a main hall constructed entirely with mortise‑and‑tenon joints without the use of a single nail.

Its collection includes the giant reclining Buddha, a complete first‑edition Yongle Northern Canon, and over 10,000 cultural relics, making it an important window into Silk Road civilizations and a cultural landmark of historic Zhangye.