The Leshan Buddha - Now That's Big!

We had all been looking forward to visiting the Leshan Buddha this trip and we were not disappointed by the amazing feat of construction that resulted in this statue carved from the red sand cliffs many centuries ago.
The buddha was created between 713 and 800 A.D. and is 233 feet high - the largest carved buddha in the world. The story is that the buddha's construction was started by a monk in 713, who hoped that the presence of the buddha would calm the turbulent river waters at its feet - currents that caused much trouble to the shipping route at the time. It is said that so much stone was carved from the cliff side and deposited in the river during the buddha's construction that it did affect the currents and resulted in calmer waters. ;-)

Leshan is 2 hours from Chengdu where our group is staying, but the traffic here is so crazy that it took us an hour to leave the city limits and get on the expressway - so a 3 hour trip. We arrived just before lunch and headed to the riverside to catch our boat for a short cruise around the cliff to see the buddha in all his glory.

We had to suit up in lifejackets (which would not have done much to save any of us HAD we needed them) and then headed up on deck.

Bryanna checked her camera carefully before setting out...she loves having her own camera to take pictures and is looking forward to sharing her photos with all her friends when she comes home.

And did I mention that the weather is finally glorious - warm 70s and sunny (though hazy, so no clear blue skies unfortunately). This added even more enjoyment to our excursion! Basking in the sun, we looked up as the boat rounded a bend and there was the buddha, rising hundreds of feet above us. Amazing.
As we snapped pictures, another little drama unfolded among our group - 6 year old Sophie was on the brink of losing a tooth. The other kids were fascinated and surrounded her for half an hour...watching with bated breath for the finale (which actually occurred just a little later at lunch). This was one delighted little girl!
After the boat returned us to the shore, we headed just up the street for a really delicious meal - I don't think I have said that we were under-impressed with the meals we had in Hong Kong and have been enjoying much tastier food in mainland China. The kids especially were delighted with huge bowls of noodle soup and buckets of rice.

We then returned to the Buddha State Park and set off to climb the path up the back of the cliff to the top of the Buddha's head. The grounds along the paths and flights of stairs, plus the temple and gardens at the top of the cliff are breathtaking.
But the best part was reaching the top when we could see the top of the Buddha right in front of us - another wow wow wow moment.
Many wow moments in fact. Looking down was dizzying and exciting to experience - that Buddha has a great view!


We then left some of the crowds surrounding the big buddha and stepped into what we called the "goldfish gardens" because there were so many of them in the pools. It was beautiful and peaceful and the perfect place for another "girl group" shot.
Ahh, another great day.

After rejoining those of our party who remained below, we set out on the trip back to Chengdu. The adults chatted and the kids played and talked and braided hair (a favourite past-time on this trip).

And began thinking ahead to tomorrow - Panda Day!!! We can't wait.