Zhangye: Dafo Temple and National Wetland Park

If you’re looking for a hotel in Zhangye, you can plan your trip around your interests: the Dafo Temple complex is known for its buildings and cultural relics, while Zhangye National Wetland Park offers wetlands and leisure activities. These two highlights showcase different sides of the destination.

Zhangye Dafo Temple: Architecture and Cultural Relics

Zhangye Dafo Temple covers an area of more than 30,000 square meters. It is a nationally protected site for significant cultural relics in China and a Grade 4A national tourist attraction. The complex is home to the Dafo Hall, the largest Buddhist building from the Western Xia period in China. It also houses Asia’s largest indoor reclining Buddha made of wood and clay. The two superlatives refer to different measures: one to a building and the other to the reclining Buddha.

The temple complex holds more than 10,000 valuable cultural relics. Another notable feature is the most complete known copy in China of the first woodblock printing and first printed edition of the Daming Sanzang Shengjiao Beicang. Alongside its architecture, the site’s cultural profile includes a significant example of the history of printing. For those interested in culture, both the scale of the complex and its surviving individual artefacts offer points of interest.

Attractions in the Dafo Temple scenic area include Dafo Temple, built during the Western Xia period; the Mituo Thousand-Buddha Pagoda from the Ming dynasty; the Bell and Drum Tower; and the Shanxi Guild Hall from the Qing dynasty. Their different historical periods help place the buildings in context. The temple is also classified as a Grade 4A national tourist attraction.

Zhangye National Wetland Park: Wetlands and Activities

Zhangye National Wetland Park covers 15,000 mu of marsh, river, and lake wetlands. The park is closely connected to Zhangye’s urban area. In December 2011, it was rated a Grade 4A tourist attraction. The stated area and the three types of wetlands give a concrete impression of the landscape, while the connection to the urban area adds a sense of its location.

Visitor facilities include wooden boardwalks, viewing terraces, and birdwatching pavilions. These terms refer to different amenities: walkways, viewing points, and pavilions specifically designated for birdwatching. Together with the wetlands, they make the park distinct from the buildings and cultural relics of the temple complex.

The park offers recreational cycling, sightseeing rides in tour vehicles, boat trips, and fishing. The activities range from cycling and fishing to rides in a sightseeing vehicle or a boat. If you plan to take part in any of these activities, check the current operating conditions separately.

Two Distinct Highlights for Planning Your Trip

The Dafo Temple complex brings together historic buildings, protected cultural relics, and a printed work passed down through the centuries. By contrast, the National Wetland Park focuses on different wetland types, visitor facilities, and leisure activities. To decide which part of Zhangye best suits your interests, use these differences as a guide: cultural and historical heritage on one side, and landscapes and activities in the park on the other.

Discover more destinations: Dingxi, Tianshui, Linxia, Longnan, Lanzhou, Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Gannan

For the main travel overview: Gansu.