Leshan Giant Buddha
成都, 四川
A seated Buddha carved directly into a cliff face overlooking the convergence of three rivers near Leshan, one of the largest stone Buddha statues in the world at over 70 meters tall. Built during the Tang Dynasty.
为什么要去Leshan Giant Buddha？
According to local tradition, the statue was commissioned by a Buddhist monk to calm turbulent river currents at the point where three rivers meet, and the carved drainage system built into the statue to prevent water damage over the centuries reflects a level of engineering thought beyond just scale. Its UNESCO listing groups it together with nearby Mount Emei as a single cultural and natural landscape, and the two are very commonly visited as a combined trip from Chengdu rather than separately.
怎么体验
The most common way to take in the statue's full scale is from a viewing area at river level looking up, though a path also winds down alongside the cliff face that lets you walk past the figure at different heights. Boat trips on the river offer a different vantage point from the water, showing the statue in the context of the cliff and river it was built to address.
小贴士
The cliffside walking path down past the statue can get very crowded with tour groups around midday — going early or visiting the riverside viewpoint first can mean a calmer experience.