Dafo Temple (Xinchang)
新昌大佛寺
An ancient temple home to a giant Buddha carved into a cave from the Southern Dynasties. The stone Maitreya statue is hailed as the “Largest Buddha in Jiangnan.”
Dafo Temple (Xinchang) sits in Nanming Valley, southwest of Xinchang county town. The temple was first built during the Eastern Jin dynasty. The seated Maitreya statue inside the cave was carved over about 30 years by three generations of monks, Sengshu, Sengshu's successors, and Sengyou, during the Qi and Liang dynasties of the Southern Dynasties. Standing about 13 meters tall, it is one of the earliest and largest cave sculptures surviving in Jiangnan. The scenic area also includes the Thousand Buddhas Courtyard, Prajna Valley, and more, and the valley is full of stone carvings and ancient trees. Admission is about 80 yuan (check on site for current prices). Allow about 3 hours. The site is about 70 km from the old town of Shaoxing. From Xinchang station on the Hangzhou–Taizhou high-speed rail, it is about a 15-minute taxi ride. It can be visited on the same day as Chuanyan Nineteen Peaks.
Opening hours
07:30–17:00
Nearby sights
- Shengzhou Yueju Opera Town
- Chuanyan Nineteen Peaks
- Six Mausoleums of the Southern Song
- Mausoleum of Yu the Great
- East Lake (Shaoxing)
- Shen Garden
- Former Residence of Qiu Jin
- Lanting (Orchid Pavilion)