|
|
Dunhuang Tour of
White Horse Dagoba
|
|
White Horse Dagoba is located in Baima
(White Horse) Village, Danghe Town, 1 km (0.62 mile) west of
Dunhuang City, Gansu Province. The dagoba has 9 stories, is 12
meters (39.4 feet) in height with an octagonal foundation.
Structures resembling up-turned lotus petals surround its central
body. On each of the angles of its hexagonal roof hang bells which
chime in a breeze. The dagoba is of the lama dagoba style of the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is evident from the characters engraved
on two stones and on a block in the middle of the second story that
the White Horse Dagoba was repaired many times by later generations.
A story accompanies the dagoba origins. Legend has it
that the dagoba was built in memory of a white horse. It is said
that in 384, Fu Jian, emperor of the Former Qin Dynasty (351-394),
invited Kumarajiva, a master specializing in Buddhist dharma, to
carry Buddhist doctrine into China from the West Region. When
Kumarajiva reached the present Dunhuang City, his white horse got
sick and died. The white horse had accompanied Kumarajiva through
the Gobi, several times saving his life. In memory of his loyal
horse Kumarajiva and local Buddhist followers raised money and had
this dagoba built in 386. According to records, in 1930, a
0.9-meter-high (3.0-foot-high) pagoda with a diamond sutra
(abbreviation name for a kind of Buddhist sutra) carved on it was
excavated. However it was later lost.
Even after 1000 years, the White Horse Dagoba set off
by surrounding green trees and cyan tiles is still straight and
majestic, a treasure of Dunhuang City.
Tour Dunhuang
with Great Wall Adventure Club, the best
Dunhuang
tour agent to help
you with your hotel booking and transfers.
|
|
