Located in Jixian County, 113 kilometres from Tianjin city, the Solitary Joy (dule) Temple, also known as the Big Buddha Temple, was first constructed in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt in 984 in the Liao Dynasty.  Dule means exclusive happiness. Legend has it that when An Lushan (? -757, a general of the Tang Dynasty) rebelled against the emperor, he held a meeting here at the temple before going to war and he gave the temple its present name because he wanted happiness exclusively for himself instead of sharing it with the people.  The temple consists of an entrance gate, the 23-metre-high Guanyin (Avalokitesvara or Goddess of Mercy) Pavilion and the chambers on the east and west sides. The gate, the roof of which has five ridges and four slopes, is China's extant oldest. The pavilion, built in 24 different systems of brackets inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam, is the cream of China's extant high-rise pavilions of wooden structure. On top of all this, it stands formidable despite 28 major earthquakes.  Inside the pavilion is a 16-metre-high clay statue of Avalokitesvara, or the Goddess of Mercy, beautiful in shape and enchanting in mien, a rare treasure among clay sculptures following the style of the Liao Dynasty (907-1125).