This
temple, also called Great Buddha Temple (Dafosi), is situated
inside the western gate of Jixian County. It was fist
built in the Tang Dynasty. Its main building, the Goddess
of Mercy Pavilion (Guanyinge), was rebuilt in A.D. 984
during the Liao Dynasty. The two-storied wooden pavilion
is twenty-three meters high, and so well designed that
it has withstood the test of several earthquakes and remains
intact to this day. It is one of the oldest and best-preserved
tall wooden structures in China. The pavilion contains
a standing statue of the Guanyin Bodhisattva with the
heads of ten small Buddhas above it. The sixteen-meter-high
statue is known as the "Eleven-face Guanyin,"
one of the largest painted clay sculptures in China. Flanking
it are two ferocious and gigantic guardians, which, together
with the heavenly guardians inside the gate, are masterpieces
of Liao Dynasty sculpture.
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