CHINA 5A TRAVEL
The world's tallest stone Buddha - a 71-meter seated Maitreya carved into a riverside cliff over 90 years in the Tang dynasty. View him eye-to-toe on the Nine Bends walkway or full-face from a river boat at the confluence of three rivers.
At the point where the Min, Dadu and Qingyi rivers collide below Lingyun Mountain, Tang-dynasty monks began in 713 AD to carve a giant Maitreya Buddha directly into the cliff - a 90-year project spanning three generations of craftsmen. The result, 71 meters tall with 8-meter fingers and a 14-meter head, is the largest cliff carving in China and the anchor of the Mount Emei-Leshan UNESCO World Heritage inscription of 1996.
The scenic area spreads across Lingyun and Wuyou mountains: the Buddha itself, the incense-filled Lingyun Temple above his head, the giant 'sleeping Buddha' silhouette formed naturally by the ridgeline, the Han-dynasty Mahao cliff tombs and the forested Wuyou Temple. Two classic ways meet the colossus - descending the precipitous Nine Bends Walkway that switchbacks past his shoulder, ear and foot, or taking the 15-minute river cruise that turns midstream for the full frontal view, camera-side out.
Night adds a second show: illuminated 'Three Rivers Night Cruise' trips set the floodlit Buddha glowing above the dark water. Most visits pair naturally with Mount Emei, 40 minutes inland, on the classic two-day Sichuan circuit from Chengdu.
Highlights
The Giant Buddha himself
71 meters seated, toes alone the size of a small car - stand beneath his feet after the switchback descent for the full vertigo of scale.
Nine Bends Walkway
The narrow cliff staircase descending past the Buddha's shoulder to his instep - the classic face-to-face encounter.
River cruise view
A 15-minute boat swing to mid-river for the only place the whole statue fits in one view, head to plinth.
Lingyun Temple
The temple above the Buddha's head - Tang origins, dense incense, and the door to the cliff-top terraces.
The Sleeping Buddha silhouette
Squint from the far bank: the whole mountain ridge lies back like a recumbent Buddha, with the Giant Buddha seated at his heart.
Three Rivers Night Cruise
After dark, illuminated boats put the floodlit colossus against black water - the modern spectacular take.
Photo Gallery
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