Handpicked experience · Chengdu
Chengdu, China
A monk carved a seventy-metre Buddha to calm a killing river, and the rubble he dumped in it actually worked.
Be one with the hundreds of devout Buddhist pilgrims paying homage to this ancient wonder.
The entire statue is made of stone, except for the ears which were crafted out of wood and covered with clay.
Eat and be merry! Don't miss out on uniquely Leshan delicacies as you explore the scenic areas.
A devotional monument that was also a river engineering project
Twelve centuries of survival explained by concealed plumbing
The head at close range and the whole figure from the water
A private vehicle for four hours of road
Timing decided with a guide rather than a coach
A private day from Chengdu to Leshan and back — around eight hours with your own guide, driver and vehicle — to see the Giant Buddha carved into the cliff above the meeting of three rivers.
The Buddha was begun in 713 by a monk named Haitong, and the purpose was not purely devotional. Three rivers meet below this cliff, and the turbulence at the confluence wrecked boats and drowned crews with grim regularity. Haitong's stated aim was to calm the water.
It worked, and not by miracle. Carving a seventy-metre figure out of a cliff produces an enormous volume of surplus rock, and that spoil went into the river below — altering the bed, softening the currents and making the confluence measurably safer. The devotional act and the engineering solution were the same act.
Haitong also, when local officials attempted to seize the funds he had raised, is said to have gouged out his own eyes to demonstrate that the project was not a scheme for enrichment.
A stone figure this size, exposed on a wet cliff for twelve centuries, should have eroded away long ago. It has not, because it was designed with a concealed drainage system.
Channels run through the coils of hair, behind the ears and along the folds of the robe, carrying rainwater off the stone rather than letting it soak and freeze in the surface. Look at the head from the platform above and what appears to be decorative styling is functional plumbing, put there by people who understood exactly what water does to sandstone over time.
The staircase cut into the cliff beside the Buddha is narrow, steep and single file, and it is the only way down past the figure. In peak season the wait to descend can run to hours, and it does not move quickly once you are on it.
Your guide will advise on timing, and the alternative worth knowing is the river: a boat gives you the entire figure at once, seen the way it was meant to be seen from a vessel navigating the confluence. Many people do both, and those who are short of time or unsure about steep stairs lose surprisingly little by choosing the water.
It is around two hours each way, so roughly half the day is driving. A private vehicle means that time is yours to sleep through.
Bring water, sun cover and shoes with grip — the stone steps are worn and can be slippery in damp weather. If you want to combine Leshan with the Panda Base or a Chengdu street, agree that with your guide at the start, since both cannot be done properly in the same eight hours.
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.
Boats sank here often enough that a monk decided to do something about it, and what he did took ninety years and outlasted three dynasties of local rule.
Yes, and not by miracle. The enormous volume of rock removed from the cliff went into the river, altering the bed and softening the currents.
A monk named Haitong, who began the work in 713. When officials tried to seize the funds he had raised, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to prove it was not a scheme for enrichment.
Design, not luck. Whoever planned it understood that standing water is what destroys sandstone, and built the figure to shed rain rather than hold it.
Once you know. From the platform above, what looks like decorative styling on the head is functional plumbing.
It is narrow, steep and single file, and it is the only way down past the figure. In peak season the wait can run to hours.
Yes, from the water. Seen from a deck the proportions read correctly for the first time, because the figure was cut to be looked at by people passing below.
Agree it with your guide at the start. Leshan and a major Chengdu attraction cannot both be done properly inside eight hours.