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WALKING AROUND THE BUDDHA
When you visit the Grand Buddha, the first part of the Buddha that you will see is its head. From here you can walk a 500 meters path down past the Buddhafs head, ears, and waist, eventually coming down to the feet for a front on view. As you walk down the path you will also see carved into the mountain, many Buddha statues and relics. |
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Attractions around the Grand Buddha Complex |
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LINGYUN TEMPLE
Also known as Big Buddha Temple, Lingyun Temple was built in the 7th Century as a tribute to Li Bing, Haitong, and Zhao Yu, the three people who helped tame the rivers around the Grand Buddha. Zhao Yu was a mythical hero who slayed a flood causing river dragon, Li Bing built DuJiangyan, and Haitong was the monk who in order to build the Grand Buddha gauged out his own eyes to show his faith , and to stop the corruption of the time
WUYOU TEMPLE
Constructed during the Tang Dynasty, Wuyou Temple was severely damaged during both the Ming and Qing dynasties, leaving most of the Temple complex with buildings reconstructed in the 1900fs. In Wuyou Temple you will find gold plated statues of Sakyamuni, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, and the Bodhisattva of Behavior. You can also visit the Arhat Hall containing life like sculptures of 500 Arhats, and the hall of the Maitreya Buddha, which has a 5 meter statue of Maitreya Buddha and 48 smaller statues.
MAHAO CAVE TOMBS
The MahaoCave Tombs date back to the Han Dynasty, a time when Cave Tombs were extremely popular in Sichuan, and when people believed in the afterlife and ghosts. You will see various funeral objects and stone carvings on display, in a number of museums around the complex. |
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Seasons For Visiting Leshan
Leshan and the Grand Buddha can be visited all year round either as a day trip, or you can combine a trip to the Grand Buddha with a trip to Mount Emei. (For information about Mount Emei please go to the Mount Emei page) .
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Leshan Grand Buddha |
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Introduction
A world Heritage site since 1996, the Grand Buddha can be found in Leshan, Sichuan Province about 2 hours from Chengdu. Taking 90 years to build between 713 and 803AD, the Grand Buddha (in the form of Maitreya, or Future Buddha) was constructed by a Buddhist Monk, Haitong, along the banks of three rivers - Dadu, Minjiang, and Qingyi to protect boatmen from the dangerous currents.
At 71 meters tall the Grand Buddha is the largest stone sculpture in the world. Sitting on top of 28 meter wide shoulders, the head is 14.7 meters long and 10 meters wide, and is covered with 1,021 buns of curly hair. His ears, nose, eyes, and eyebrows are 7, 5.6, 3.3, and 5.6 meters long respectively. The foot of the Buddha is big enough to stand 100 people, with the big toe 8.5 meters long. You can get a perspective of the Grand Buddha by walking along a 500meter path that will take you from the top of the Buddha past the head, hand and down to the feet. |
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Sightseeing
AROUND THE GRAND BUDDHA COMPLEX.
There is much more to see at the Grand Buddha complex than just the Grand Buddha. At the complex you can visit Temples, Pagodas, walk through the many Gardens, or just sit and relax at one of the numerous Tea Houses in the complex.
BOAT TRIP TO GRAND BUDDHA
One of the best ways to see the Grand Buddha is to take a boat trip from Leshan Jetty to Wuyou Shan. Making the journey on either the small or large boats that frequently run between the two places, you will be able to get a front on view of not only the Grand Buddha, but also of its two Guardians which are not visible from the shore. From the Jetty at Wuyou Shan, you can follow a path up to WuyouTemple. After visiting the temple, you can keep following the path down to the shore, and then up to the Grand Buddhafs head.
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Leshan's Weather |
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