Leshan giant Buddha and mount Emei tour in Sichuan (China)

April 27th, 2006

A two days trip from Chengdu that includes a sightseeing tour to Leshan giant Buddha (world's biggest Buddha carved inside a mountain), followed by an excursion to mount Emei, Baoguo and Wannian temple.

The city of Leshan is located near the confluence of three rivers and has about one million of inhabitants.

The tour in Leshan starts from the giant Buddha carved in the mountain. In order to have a complete view over the giant Buddha, it is best to take a boat and observe it from the river. In the pictures, the path around the statue, still carved inside the mountain.

Picture of giant Buddha. The giant Buddha of Leshan is the world's largest Buddha carved into a mountain and is about 76 metres high. It was build about 2000 years ago.

More photos of the giant Buddha located in Leshan and built entirely by carving it in the mountain. To have a better feel of the size, just compare the foot, the hand and the head with the people walking around.

On the left, another statue carved in the rock. On the right, the path to go to the base of the giant Buddha.

After the cruise around the giant Buddha, a land tour follows. It is necessary to climb about 360 steps to reach the Buddha's head.

Along the path, it is still possible to observe other statues and carvings.

Another picture of Leshan city.

I then decide to reach the giant Buddha's foot descending via a different path.

On the mountain's wall there are many other carved statues, but unfortunately most of them are ruined by the erosion. For this reason, there are government's plan to cover the Buddha itself, keeping out only the head, in order to better preserve it.

Descending to the Buddha statue's feet.

A picture of the Buddha carved in the rock, taken from the statue's feet.

On the right picture, a statue of the monk who started and worked on the giant Buddha project. On the top picture, the cave where he lived while working.

Near the giant Buddha statue, there is also a small and nice temple.

The day tour continues with a visit to the Baoguo buddist temple, at the foot of mount Emei.

Photos of Baoguo temple in China. Incense is burnt in big pots, in the temple's courtyard. Unluckly, no picture is permitted inside the temple.

On the left picture, a huge bell. On the right picyure, a view on the gardens around the temple.

The next morning, the tour in Sichuan continues with a visit to the buddist temple of Wannian on mount Emei. A 30 minutes bus ride is necessary to reach the cableway's station.

It is then about eight minutes by cableway, to reach the temple. The scenery all around is breathtaking, with dense forests and farms where the-trees are grown.