Leshan Giant Buddha (lè shān dà fó 乐山大佛) is located in Leshan City (lè shān shì 乐山市) of Sichuan Province (sì chuān 四川), at the bank of Minjiang River (mín jiāng 岷江). It is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.

Leshan Giant Buddha is 71 meters high, 18 meters higher than the second largest stone Buddha of Bamyan in Afghanistan. It was built during the Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝), carved out of a cliff of the Lingyun Hill (líng yún shān 凌云山) that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, and Dadu (dà dù hé 大渡河) Rivers. The Buddha is sitting there, wearing a cowl, with two hands putting on his knees, feet on the lotus. The total height of the Buddha is 71 meters, which is as high as the top of Linyun Hill. It is lofty and massive with a symmetrical scale and with a 10 meter wide head, 5.6 meter long nose, 7 meter long ears, 5.6 meter long nose, 7 meter long ears, 5.6 meter long eyebrows, 3.3 meter long eyes, 3.3 meter long mouth, 3 meter long neck, 28 meter wide shoulders and 8.3 meter long fingers, and the height from the Giant Buddha’s insteps to its knees is 28 meters. On the head, there are 1021 hair buns, each of which are as large as the round table. The feet back of the Buddha can hold more than 100 people. On the cliffs beside the Giant Buddha, there are two carved stone warriors in battle robe and holding the halberd. Besides, there are tens of hundreds carved Buddha, which makes the mountain a museum of Buddhist carving.

On the left of the Buddha, there is the beginning of the Lingyun Plank Road (líng yún zhàn dào 凌云栈道), which is nearly 500 meters long. To the left, there is the Jiuqu Plank Road (jiǔ qǔ zhàn dào 九曲栈道). The Giant Buddha was originally painted with color. After the construction of the Giant Buddha, there was also a building with 13 stories, called Dafo Pavilion (dà fó gé 大佛阁) or Tianning Pavilion (tiān níng gé 天宁阁), covering the Buddha so as to protect the carving. However, the pavilion was destroyed at the end of the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝). Hence the Buddha was oxidized.

For thousands of years, the Giant Buddha has eroded by wind and rain. However owing to the barrel-drains on the body and the head of the carved Buddha, the carving still stands majestically. The drainage system is so crafty that one will not find them easily.

With wonderful scene of the Leshan Giant Buddha, numerous interest places and contiguous scenic spots, it is just like a picture scroll with too many beautiful things. No matter whether you climb up the mountain for sightseeing or look around by water, it is sure that you must feast your eyes on the beauty, relaxed and happy and reluctant to leave.

Leshan Giant Buddha
Location: Bizi Street (bì zǐ jiē 篦子街), Leshan City, China
Admission fee: CNY 70
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Transportation: you can take bus No. 7 on Jiading Road (jiā dìng lù 嘉定路) and get off at the gate of the Leshan Giant Buddha.