Shangyu Xinchang Dafo Temple

Shangyu Xinchang Dafo Temple Dafo Temple is located in Ming Street, Xinchang County, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. It was built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The temple is characterized by stone carvings, with large-scale and ancient Buddha statues, including a stone Maitreya Buddha with a history of more than 1,600 years. It took three generations of eminent monks 30 years to complete the carvings, and it is the only remaining relic of early stone carvings in southern China. The temple was praised as "a treasure of the world, an unparalleled achievement, and a great work of the ages" in the book Wenxin Diaolong, and later generations called it "the largest Buddha in Jiangnan." The scenic area covers 25 square kilometers, facing east. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars were frequent and people were suffering. People believed that Maitreya Bodhisattva had boundless Dharma and could save all living beings and help people escape from suffering.