Trevor & Michael China: Day 13

A visit to Leshan and the giant Buddha.

It was a long bus ride.
Below is a snapshot of the scenery.

We stopped at a tea shop for a break. They had a number of differing teas but only in largish amounts.

Back on the bus to Leshan.

Giant Buddha.
Construction was started in 713, led by a Chinese monk named Haitong. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels travelling down the river. When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity. After his death, however, the construction was stuck due to insufficient funding. About 70 years later, a jiedushi decided to sponsor the project and the construction was completed by Haitong's disciples in 803.
Apparently the massive construction resulted in so much stone being removed from the cliff face and deposited into the river below that the currents were indeed altered by the statue, making the water safe for passing ships.
A sophisticated drainage system was incorporated into the Leshan Giant Buddha when it was built. It is still in working order. It includes drainage pipes carved into various places on the body, to carry away the water after the rains so as to reduce weathering.
When the Giant Buddha was carved, a huge thirteen storey stone structure was built to shelter it from rain and sunshine. This structure was destroyed and sacked by the Mongols during the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. From then on, the stone statue was exposed to the elements.

As you can notice I was impressed with the steps leading up and down around the Buddha. It would have made a much better visit if we could have used the steps.

The boat ride was about 1/2 an hour with less than 10 minutes when you could see the Buddha.

The boats on which the tours were undertaken

The Buddha and the steps leading around the Buddha

Scenes from the bus.

The town of Huangiongxi. The village dates back 1700 years.
However, now it is just another tourist area selling the same cheap souvenirs with a number of food stools. The set up is for the local tourists, their equivalent of our tourist towns. Having said that it was of more interest and had more variety than most of the other ancient villages cum Market areas to which we were taken.