Sleeping Buddha Temple

The Temple of the Sleeping Buddha is located in the western suburbs of Beijing. The temple was built in the seventh century under the Tang dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty, the temple was expanded to accommodate a huge bronze statue of Shakyamuni Reclining Buddha. The statue was cast in 1321. It weighs about 54 tons and is 5.3 meters long.

The statue is located in the main hall of the temple, called the Hall of the Sleeping Buddha. Around the main statue are placed 12 small clay sculptures of the disciples of the Buddha. The disciples are in the poses in which they arrived when Buddha Shakyamuni gave them his final instructions at the end of his earthly existence.