Handpicked experience · Chengdu
Chengdu, China
A private day south from Chengdu to the seventy-one-metre Buddha carved into the cliff at Leshan, and into the temple forests of Mount Emei.
Ride a cable car to Mount Emei's lofty Golden Summit.
Marvel at the sight of the Golden Buddha, standing tall against the backdrop of mountain ranges
Watch as the sea of clouds envelop the surrounding areas of Mount Emei
Stone carving begun in 713 and ninety years in the making
A figure whose toenails are the size of a person
Three rivers meeting at its feet, which was the original point
One of the four mountains held sacred in Chinese Buddhism
A private vehicle, without which the pairing does not fit
The Buddha at Leshan is seventy-one metres of stone cut directly into a river cliff, begun in 713 and finished ninety years later. Scale is the whole point and photographs consistently fail at it: the toenails alone are the size of a person. It sits where three rivers meet, and the monk who started it intended exactly that — calmer water for the boats below.
There are two ways to see it. The stairway that runs down beside the figure gives you the close view and can mean a very long queue at busy times. A boat on the river gives you the whole thing at once, in minutes.
One of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains, and a different register entirely — temple courtyards, forest paths, mist. The Golden Summit sits near 3,100 metres and needs a bus and a cable car to reach, which is a half day by itself.
They are roughly thirty kilometres apart and each deserves longer than a shared day allows. A private vehicle is what makes the combination workable rather than comfortable.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
The stairway beside the figure gives the close view but can involve a long queue. A boat shows the whole carving at once in a few minutes. Many visitors do the boat when time is short.
They can, about thirty kilometres apart, but neither gets the time it deserves. A private vehicle is what makes it workable at all.
Not usually within a combined day. It sits near 3,100 metres and needs a bus and a cable car, which is a half day on its own.
On the mountain trails they can be assertive around food and bags. Keep snacks out of sight and do not feed them.