CHINA-DAY 13-SILK ROAD TOUR-ZHANGYE TO LANZHOU--SEP 2014

 

ZHANGYE-WUWEI-LANZHOU

1 Oct 2014

 

Route 6 hours and 575 km

The Giant Buddha Temple (Dafo Temple) is situated in the centre of Zhangye. It was first built in 1098 (Western Xia Dynasty) and named after the statue worshiped inside. The temple is also known as “Wofo Temple” (Sleeping Buddha Temple). It’s an important historical site on the Silk Road and the landmark of Zhangye. This is a rare religious temple of Western Xia with the largest indoor sleeping Buddha in Asia, rare Buddhist scriptures, and thousands of collections of cultural relics.

                                         

Our next stop is Wuwei. The landscapes on the road were now changing and becoming greener with more farmland. More human habitats were also seen as approach Wuwei. For sure, we were out of the desert.

We had lunch in Wuwei and proceeded to Confucius Temple. This temple dated back to the 15^th century during the Ming Dynasty. It is the biggest temple in Gansu. There is a museum within the temple complex that houses the Western Xia Tablet that belonged to the extinct and mysterious Tanguts.

Confucius Temple 

Tanguts’s relics

The bus headed towards Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu and the pastures becomes greener as we approached this ancient city.

Lanzhou Night Market

This was our last night of the tour. Has been a great tour.