Jishan Dafo Temple in Shanxi, the world's largest clay sculpture Buddha

Jishan Dafo The world's number one clay sculpture Buddha. Honestly, it's quite rare for the Buddha from the Yuan Dynasty to be preserved so intact to this day, especially considering it has survived nearly 20 earthquakes and fires. The monks in the temple say that when the main hall was struck by lightning and caught fire, the fire trucks were right there but didn't dare to put out the fire because the Buddha was made of clay and would have been destroyed by the high-pressure water jets. Miraculously, after the main hall was completely burned, the Buddha remained unscathed. This may be a kind of blessing, but it's more a testament to the ancient wisdom in constructing ancient buildings. 🪷 About the Dafo Temple The Daxiong Hall and other buildings in the temple are mostly imitations of Yuan Dynasty architecture, but the Buddha inside is an authentic sculpture from the Jin Dynasty, carved from pure loess. This is a more than 20-meter-tall, over 800-year-old clay sculpture Buddha. Inside the hall, there is a wooden staircase leading to the second floor, which is usually not open to the public. This time, I was fortunate enough to go upstairs and have a close encounter with the Buddha, which I consider to be a kind of fate. The stairs are very steep, and from behind the Buddha, you can see the dense curls on top of the Buddha's head. The Buddha's face is full and the ears hang over the shoulders. From the second floor, you can look closely into the Buddha's clear eyes. The Buddha's left hand is placed on the knee, and the right hand is raised high in a teaching gesture, probably representing a scene of preaching. The view from the second floor is truly amazing; from the first floor, it seems you can only see the Buddha's nostrils... you can't see all these details. 📍 Address: Jishan County, Yuncheng, Shanxi 🎫 Ticket: Free Some say the Buddha is Sakyamuni Buddha Actually, it's a Maitreya Buddha Don't disbelieve it‼️