Religious site · SICHUAN · UNESCO
Leshan Giant Buddha
乐山大佛 · Lèshān Dàfó
About
The 71m Tang-dynasty Maitreya Buddha carved into a sandstone cliff at the confluence of three rivers. UNESCO-listed.
The Leshan Giant Buddha was carved between 713 and 803 CE into the Lingyun Mountain cliff at the confluence of the Min, Dadu and Qingyi rivers. At 71m tall, it is the largest stone Buddha in the world, and one of the largest carved monumental sculptures of any kind. The shoulders are 28m wide and a single foot is 8.5m long. The original drainage system inside the carving still functions and is responsible for the Buddha's preservation. UNESCO-listed jointly with Mt Emei in 1996.
Access by trail down the cliff face beside the Buddha (steep, slow during peak hours) or by boat on the river below. The boat view is the better photograph; the trail gives the scale.
How to get there
HSR Chengdu East to Leshan (1h), then bus 13 to scenic area.
When to visit
Weekday early morning. Avoid summer humidity.
Gallery
Other attractions in Chengdu
Itineraries featuring this site
- Four Buddhist Mountains Circuit, 10 days
10d · China's four sacred Buddhist mountains in sequence: Wutai (Shanxi), Jiuhua (Anhui), Emei (Sichuan), and Putuo (Zhejiang) — each dedicated to a different bodhisattva.
- Buddhist pilgrimage — Putuoshan, Wutaishan, Emei and Jiuhua, 10 days
10d · Ten days visiting the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China — Putuo (Guanyin), Wutai (Manjushri), Emei (Samantabhadra) and Jiuhua (Ksitigarbha) — each with its own character and monastic tradition.
- Family China classic — 10 days Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Shanghai
10d · Ten days at a child-friendly pace: Beijing history, Xi'an warriors, Chengdu pandas and Shanghai's waterfront — the four cities that deliver the widest variety for families with school-age children.
- Slow travel China — 14 days, fewer cities, deeper neighbourhoods
14d · Fourteen days in just three cities — Xi'an, Chengdu and Lijiang — spending four to five nights in each to move beyond the headline sights into daily rhythms, local markets and neighbourhood life.
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