Brief information on Leshan Giant Buddha  

Leshan, 152 kilometers away from Chengdu, located in the southwest of the Sichuan Basin. Leshan has rich products, prosperous economy, and plentiful historic sites and fascinating sights. Leshan Giant Buddha is a famous scenic spot for tourists in Sichuan Province. It was carved out of a cliff face by an 8th-century monk in southern Sichuan province, stands at over 70 meters with his 14.7m head, and 24m shoulders Leshan Giant  Buddha is the tallest Buddha statue in the world. The Buddha’s ears are 6.72m long, insteps 8.5m broad, and a picnic could be conducted on the nail of his big toe, which is 1.5m long.
The giant stone Buddha is shaped in accurate proportions, a solemn expression and a strong sense of movement properly. It is surprising that the ancient Chinese artists and workers could make such a giant statue with the simple tools they had at that time. They were with great talents and creative spirit.
In Emperor xuanzong’s reign of the Tang Dynasty, an eminent monk named Haitong from Guizhou Province once came to visit the Lingyun Temple in Jiazhou (present-day Leshan County). He saw the torrents roaring in the river under the cliff and heard that there were frequent shipwrecks at the area. The water course was an important channel connecting the surrounding areas, so Haitong decided to build a Buddha statue to control the floods and to promote Buddhism among the people. He walked around the country to spread and explain the spirit of Buddhism, to collect funds and to look for capable craftsmen. In 718, the construction of the giant stone Buddha at Leshan began under Haitong’s supervision. In Tang Dynasty, people worshipped Maitreya, regarding him as the symbol of a bright future. Haitong first asked the craftsmen to make a small sample statue of Maitreya. Then he surveyed the mountain rocks and rivers to decide on its position and, at last, began the construction.
With ten of thousands of workers’ hard work and wisdom, the project was finally completed in 803. The giant statue was painted with different colors to make it more beautiful and harmonize with the surrounding environment. A seven-story pavilion was built into the mountain as a cover in order to protect the Buddha.
It attracts thousands of the visitors at home and abroad every year. To the great surprise of the visitors, in recent years another huge Sleeping Figure of Buddha has been discovered. The visitors are all can’t help to admire the splendid art works left by the ancient Chinese people, which has made a lasting pleasant impression on them.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Leshan Giant Buddha if you plan to visit Leshan Giant Buddha and have language problems.

   

Hours: May-Sept 07:30-19:30; Oct-Apr 08:00-18:00
Adress: Leshan, Sichuan Province
Transportation: Take bus No. 8 from Beinjiang Lu to the north entrance or a ferry to Lingyun or Wuyou.