The serene, 1200-year-old, UNESCO-crowned Leshan Grand Buddha (乐山大佛, Lèshān Dàfó) sits in repose, carved from a cliff face overlooking the confluence of three busy rivers in Leshan (山, Lèshān). The Buddhist monk Haitong conceived the project in 713 CE, hoping Buddha would calm the lethal currents of the rivers. It was 90 years after Haitong's death that the project was completed, but the waters obeyed. Believers credited Buddha’s grace; others pointed to the construction process, in which piles of surplus rocks reshaped the rivers and changed the currents.
At 71m tall, he is indeed grand. His shoulders span 28m, each of his big toes is 8.5m long, and his ears are 7m in length. To fully appreciate this Buddha’s magnitude, get an up-close look at his head, then descend the steep, winding stairway for the Lilliputian view of him. Inside the body, hidden from view, is a water-drainage system to prevent weathering, although he is showing his age and soil erosion is an ongoing problem.
Avoid visiting on weekends and holidays, when traffic on the staircase can come to a complete standstill and queues can top two hours or more.
Admission also includes access to a number of temples on the grounds. A separate park (charging ¥80 admission, same as the Grand Buddha admission), the Disney-esque Oriental Buddha Capital (东方佛都, Dōngfāng Fódū) has a collection of 3000 Buddha statues, including gigantic ones purportedly sculpted by art professors in the 1990s.
You can also view the Buddha by boat. Frequent sailings depart from Baxiandong Sightseeing Terminal (八仙洞码头) and Leshan Port Sightseeing Cruise Terminal (乐山港码头), both north of the Grand Buddha. Tours take around 30 minutes, but note that you can't go ashore from the boats.
