Leshan Giant Buddha

The Leshan Giant Buddha is located at the point where three rivers converge: the Minjiang River east of Leshan City, the Qingyi River, and the Dadu River. The sculpture depicts the seated Buddha Maitreya carved into the cliff of Qixia Peak, on Lingyun Mountain, right next to the water. The carving began in 713, the first year of the Tang Dynasty, and continued for more than 90 years.

The Leshan Giant Buddha has a graceful posture and a solemn face, and it is carved into the cliffwith its feet stepping into the river and its hands on its knees. The Buddha is 233 feet tall; the head is 49 feet long and 33 feet wide, the ear is 23 feet long, the nose is 18 feet long, the eyebrows are 10.8 feet long, the shoulders are 91 feetwide, the fingers are 27 feet long, and each foot measures 28 feet wide. More than 100 people at a time can sit around one of its feet. The hair is dressed into 1,021 buns. Seen from far away, these buns seem to be part of the head itsef but in fact they were studded onto it.

At the hare part of each hair bun of Leshan Giant Buddha, clear studding seams can be seen, but there is no concrete of any kind sticking it to the head. Each bun is covered with two layers of mortar, and the inner layer is lime. Each layer is between a quarter inch and l inch thick. On the back of the right earlap is a small hole more than 9 inches deep, in which rotten wood has been discovered. A small hole has also been discovered below the nose, inside which were three pieces of wood laid in a triangle. This means the nose might also be made of wood and covered with lime.

Leshan Giant Buddha Tour

The Leshan Giant Buddha, the "Greatest Buddha in the World," is the largest ancient Chinese sculpture of Buddha Maitreya as well as the world's largest stone sculpture. It is a classic work combining religion, hydroscience, and techniques of traditional sculpture.