 This temple, also called Great Buddha Temple (Dafosi), is situated inside the western gate of Jixian County. It was first 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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