Now that I had reached the top of Leshan. Our destination is already close at hand. We walked to the edge of the plaform on top to discover the huge head of the Buddha right in front of me. Although I have seen numerous photos of the Giant Buddha, nothing prepared me for this. To say he was gigantic was an understatement. It is unbelievably huge.
The platform on top of gives visitors a good view of the Giant Buddha, it is from this spot where numerous shots of the Buddha has been taken. The visitors who want to travel down to ground level will have to navigate a series of steep stairs down. The steps were narrow and steep. It was quite difficult to overtake slower groups, though I wasn’t really in a hurry. Along the way we can take photos of the huge Buddha fron varying angles on the way down.
The stairs has some sort of cage to prevent people from falling over the railings, good idea since it is really quite high up. When we finally reached the ground, I stared in awe of the Leshan Giant Buddha. It is so big that I can easily fit on his toe. Construction of the Buddha was started in 713 AD by a monk named Hiatong. It was believed that the construction of the Buddha would calm the current of the powerful river in front of the Buddha. By the time the construction finished ninety years later, the current has indeed mellowed because of the amount of rock that the construction has deposited on the river itself. Others say it was because of the calming effects of the Buddha.
The seated Buddha is 71 meters tall and it carved out of red sandstone. Being more than a thousand years old, it is already showing some wear and tear. Especially from the pollution caused by the unbridled economic development in this part of China. Already, the local government has shutdown factories in the area and promised to restore the Buddha.
Across the river is the city of Leshan. You can see people walking along the riverbanks to catch a photo of the Giant Buddha. It is possible to hire a boat to view the Giant Buddha. What cannot be seen up close from my vantage point are two lions carved on each side of the mountain, but it is visible from the other side of the river.
After resting for a while, we started to find our way out of the park, however, there were no signs whatsoever on how to get out. It seems we would have be backtrack. Since we were already down at sea level, this would mean we would have to walk back up the mountain, a terrible thought. Oh well, the trip to see this Giant Buddha was certainly fulfilling. The “side attractions” were also interesting and gave some more value for our money.
Back at the entrance, we claimed our bags and were met by the waiting lady from Emei, our next destination.
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