Leshan Giant Buddha

Introdution
The scenic spot of Leshan Giant Buddha is located in Shizhong District of Leshan City, at the junction of Minjiang River, Dadu River and Qingyi River and in the middle of Lingvun Mountain. It faces Leshan City on the other bank of the river. Leshan Giant Buddha is carved on the palisades at the junction of Minjiang River, Dadu River and Qingyi River. It was known as "Maitreya Giant Buddha ", "Jiading Giant Buddha" and "Lingyun Giant Buddha". 

Leshan Giant Buddha is one of the boutique works of art among the statues on cliffs of the Tang Dynasty and the largest carved stone sitting statue of Maitreya Buddha. The giant Buddha sits in front the rivers with both hands on the knees. It has a uniform posture and solemn and respectful expression. The drainage facility is visible and is skillfully designed. The Buddha is 71m in height with a 14.7m head and with 1,051 buns. two 7m ears, a 5.6m nose, 5.6m eyebrows, 3.3m mouth and eyes, a 3m neck. 24m wide shoulder and 8.3m long lingers. It is 28m from the knees to insteps, which ire 8.5rn wide. An instep can accommodate over one hundred people. On the cliffs along the river on both sides of the giant Buddha, there are two warriors of over l0m high wearing a coat armor and holding a dagger-axe and halberd respectively. Hundreds of niches and over one thousands of stone carvings constitute the huge Buddhist stone carving group. Leshan

History & Background
Giant Buddha is rated as "the mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain" by poets. Leshan Giant Buddha was carved in the first year of Xuanzong Period in the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 7 13) with the manpower and material resources raised by Master Haitong, the host of Lingyun Temple, for control of floods and taking across sentient beings universally. When the giant Buddha was built to the shoulders, Master Haitong passed away and the project was interrupted. 

About ten years Later, Zhangchou Jianqiong, the governor of Jiannan Xichuan, donated his salary for building the giant Buddha. Since the project was large. the government ordered to grant taxes of hemp and salt to make the project progress rapidly. When the giant Buddha was built to the knees, Zhangchou Jianqiong Was promoted to serve as the minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the project stopped again. 

Forty years later, Wei Gao donated his salary for building the giant Buddha. In the nineteenth year of Dezong Zhenyuan Period in the Tang Dynasty (A.D 803), the construction of Leshan Giant Buddha was completed after 90 years and three generations of common efforts. The Chronicle of the Giant Stone Statue of Maitreya in Lingyun Temple of Jiazhou Written by Weigao recorded the beginning and end of carving the giant Buddha. The original stele are still kept on the cliff on the right of the giant Buddha. Leshan Giant Buddha is the crystallization of wisdom of the working people of ancient China and is one the miracles in the cultural history of the world.

Leshan Giant Buddha scenic spot has thick forest and tall bamboos. They are verdant all the year round. Three rivers converge here with boats dotted on them. It is just like a natural picture scroll and enjoys the good reputation of best mountains and waters in the southwest, and has been praised by men of literature and writing in the history. Shan Bo in the Song Dynasty wrote in his Qinyin Kiosk Chrouicle that the best mountains and waters under the heaven are located in Shu, the best mountains and waters in Shu are located in Jiazhou, the best mountains and waters in Jiazhou are in Lingyun...... There are many cultural relics and historical sites in the scenic spot and inscriptions of celebrities in the history are everywhere; there are many scenic spots, e.g. Lingyun Temple, Mahao Cliff Tomb, Wuyou Lidui, Wuyou Temple, Giant Sleeping Buddha, etc. In 201 1, Leshan Giant Buddha scenic spot was rated as the ationa1 AAAAA tourist attraction.

What to see in Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
Statue of Buddha
The Buddha is 71 meters high, ears has 6.72 meters long, nose 5.33 meters, eyes 3.3 meters, shoulder 24 meters, the middle finger demon of the hand 8.3 meters, the instep of 9 meters, 11 meters long.

Wuyou Temple
Wuyou temple is located on the Wuyou mountain. It was built in the Tang Dynasty. The architecture of Wuyou Temple follows the mountain trend along the plan, and it is also exquisite and elegant. The main buildings of the temple are Buddha Hall, Heavenly Kings hall, Maitreya hall and Guanyin hall.

Lingbao Tower
Also known as Lingyun tower, it is built at the top of Lingyun mountain Lingbao peak. The pagoda was built in the Tang Dynasty. It is a brick Pagoda with dense eaves structure. Lingbao pagoda is a landmark building in Jiazhou Ancient Town.

Lingyun Temple
Lingyun temple was built in the early years of Kaiyuan (713) of the Tang Dynasty and was destroyed several times. The existing Lingyun temple was built in 1667. There are three quadrangle buildings in the temple, including Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall and Sutra hall.

Information
Address: No. 2435, Mid Section of Lingyun Rd., Leshan City, Sichuan Province 
Admission Fee: CNY 80 (Excluding CNY 70 for a boat trip)
Opening Hours: 09:00-16:50 Daily

How to get there
1)From Chengdu: Take Chengdu-Leshan-Emeishan Intercity High-Speed Train from Chengdu to Leshan Railway Station, and then change to bus 3 to reach it.
2)From Emeishan: The distance between Leshan and Emeishan City is 31 kilometers. There are direct buses to Leshan Buddha at Emeishan passenger station, which runs every 10 minutes