Reasons why I didn’t actually visit Leshan:
1) A cheap ride was available from Chengdu direct to the Grand Buddha and back, blowing right through Leshan itself and making for a good half-day trip.
2) Leshan, sitting across the river in all its gloomy glory, didn’t exactly look inviting. About the only thing I could make out through the mist was a cluster of ugly, generic bank towers under construction. I bet Buddha just loves his view.
Reasons why The Grand Buddha is worth visiting:
1) They are not lying: this thing is BIG. 71m tall, if I remember correctly. Standing at its feet, dwarfed by the toes, you really wonder how in the world they carved this thing. Very, very impressive.
2) The area around the Grand Buddha itself is chock full of peaceful forested paths, misty hills, landscaped gardens and temples. China at its quiet, pensive best.
Things that scared me:
1) To get a full view of the Grand Buddha, we had to make our way down a cliffside path. It was narrow, steep and slippery. Throw in the usual Chinese pushing and jostling (even when it’s obvious there is nowhere to go but off the edge), and you have a decent recipe for disaster. I cringe to think how many people took a tumble off there before they installed the iron railing. When we were leaving, the crowds had swelled and they had soldiers (!) controlling the flow of people down the path.
“Funny China” Memories: Upon entering one of the temples, Justin and I were a bit shocked to see some tourists noisily throwing coins at a Buddha statue. Wasn’t that kind of sacrilegious? Then we noticed that the reclined, happy Buddha had a pot in one of his arms. If a tossed coin landed in it, a booming voice would come out of nowhere, laugh and say something incomprehensible, sounding eerily like Jabba the Hutt. Religion has come such a long way, hasn’t it?