2016 Summer Tour Shudi Impression No. 4 - Leshan Giant Buddha Impression

Number of days: 1 day
Time: June
Average cost: 300 yuan
With whom: With friends
Tour kinds: food, shopping, photography, humanities, group tours, saving money
Updated: 2023.08.06

Fourth, the impression of the Leshan Giant Buddha

On June 24, 2016, Ah Li and his colleagues started a two-day tour of the Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei. Mount Emei-Leshan Giant Buddha is a dual heritage of world culture and nature, and Ali has longed for it for a long time, and now he can finally get in close contact with it.

This time the tour group was small, only one minibus was full. It is also relatively fast from Chengdu to Leshan, only more than two hours by car, and the road is unimpeded. Before visiting the Leshan Giant Buddha, the tour guide took us to taste a local specialty snack - stilt beef.

Ah Li originally thought that the beef was meat on a plate of beef leg, but when it was served, it turned out to be a bowl of beef offal soup! After tasting it, I felt that it tasted really good. Ah Li read the introduction on the wall of the store and learned the origin of the beef:

many years ago, the plague in Leshan raged. A kind old Chinese medicine doctor couldn't bear to watch people fall into the plague, so he set up a pot to boil medicine and save the patient. Later, he saw that the local large families threw the intestines, lungs, tripes and other cattle into the river, and felt that it was a pity, so he washed them, cut them into small pieces, put them in the medicine pot and boiled them with the medicinal materials. Unexpectedly, after this soup was cooked, it was very delicious, which could not only cure diseases, but also fill the stomach, and was widely popular with the people. Due to the large number of diners, the latecomers had no place to sit, so they could only sit on the steps at the door and eat with their legs crossed. So this beef offal soup made with a lot of medicinal materials was named "Kicked Beef" and became a famous local specialty.

After tasting the stomp beef, we went to visit the Leshan Giant Buddha. The Big Buddha is built on the cliff facing the river of Lingyun Mountain, 71 meters high, and is currently the tallest ancient stone carving seated statue of Maitreya Buddha in the world. Its head is level with the mountain, its feet are on the river, its hands are on its knees, and it sits upright by the river. On the left and right sides of the Buddha, along the river cliffs, there are two stone carvings of the Protector King of Heaven with a height of more than 16 meters, guarding the Buddha at all times.

Why build such a big Buddha here? The tour guide solved the mystery for us:

under Lingyun Mountain is the confluence of the three major rivers of Minjiang, Tsing Yi River and Dadu River, and the water is very fierce. In summer, the river is particularly turbulent, so tragedies such as shipwrecks and deaths often occur here. In order to reduce the water flow and save all living beings, Master Haitong of the Tang Dynasty was determined to build a big Buddha here. The Buddha statue began construction in the early years of Tang Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era (713 AD), and was built from top to bottom, progressing smoothly. When the Great Buddha was repaired to the shoulder, Zen Master Haitong died. After his death, the project was interrupted. Many years later, Zhang Qiu Jianqiong, the governor of Jiannan Xichuan, donated his salary, and Master Haitong's apprentice led the craftsmen to continue to build the Great Buddha. When the Leshan Giant Buddha was repaired to his knees, Zhang Qiu Jianqiong was promoted to the Minister of Household Affairs, left the place, and the project was stopped again. Forty years later, Wei Gao, the governor of Jiannan Xichuan, donated his salary to continue the construction of the Leshan Giant Buddha. After the efforts of three generations of craftsmen, the Buddha was finally completed in the nineteenth year of Emperor Dezong's reign (803 AD), which lasted for ninety years. After the completion of the Big Buddha, ships here really rarely capsized - in the past, people thought it was due to the blessing of the Big Buddha; Now, the scientific explanation is that the countless huge stones that were chiseled down during the construction of the Great Buddha rolled into the river, changing the shape of the riverbed and making the water flow less turbulent.

We arrived at the scenic spot at eleven o'clock, which was the time when there were the most tourists, and everyone could only line up and slowly descend from the nine-curve plank road on the right side of the Big Buddha. The Jiuqu plank road built on the cliff is a one-way road, which was left over from the excavation of the Giant Buddha in the Tang Dynasty, twisting and turning, very narrow, we can only walk slowly down one by one by holding on to the fence, and watch the Big Buddha on the left while walking. There was some green grass and moss on the bun and body of the Big Buddha, and the parts of his face were also a little black due to rain erosion, but all this did not affect the demeanor of the Big Buddha at all - it was still so dignified and solemn, which made people feel awe.

We finally came to the feet of the Big Buddha, saw its huge soles, looked up at its tall body, and suddenly felt how small we were! Turning around and looking at the confluence of the three rivers in front of you - on the wide river, several cruise ships are full of guests visiting the Leshan Giant Buddha from the water.

After lingering at the foot of the Buddha for a while, we returned to the top of Lingyun Mountain along the Lingyun Plank Road on the left side of the Buddha. The tour guide of the scenic spot led us to taste tea - strictly speaking, it should be a tasting: if you think it tastes good, you can buy some tea as a souvenir of your visit. After drinking the free tea, we got in the car and went to the next attraction - Emei Elephant City.

Emei Elephant City is located in the city of Emei Mountain, close to the largest Buddhist temple in China, the Big Buddha Monastery. After we arrived there, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon, so we first visited the Big Buddha Monastery, went back to the hotel for dinner, and then went to visit the night view of Elephant City. Emei Elephant City covers an area of 67 acres, consisting of garden buildings, and the architectural style is simple and magnificent. An elephant tower on Elephant City Square left a deep impression on Ali: a pagoda consists of three layers of lotus platforms and three layers of elephants, the first layer is a white lotus platform with eight white elephants with their heads facing outward, the second layer is a golden lotus platform with four white elephants with their heads facing outward, and the third floor is a golden lotus platform with two white elephants with their heads facing outward. Under the illumination of the lights and against the backdrop of the blue sky, the entire elephant tower shone brightly, making Ah Li can't help but stop and take a closer look.

After enjoying the night view of Xiangcheng Square, Ah Li and his colleagues walked around the local souvenir shop for a long time and bought a few calf horn combs.

After that, we hurried back to the hotel to rest, because tomorrow morning we are going to visit Mount Emei and visit the Mount Emei that Li Bai will never forget!

Li Bai's "Song of the Moon on Mount Emei": The moon on Mount Emei is half a round of autumn, and its shadow enters the flow of the Pingqiang River. At night, I set off from the clear stream towards the Three Gorges, missing you and not seeing you descend to Yuzhou.

Li Bai's "Song of the Moon on Mount Emei Sends Shu Monk Yan into Zhongjing": When I was in the Three Gorges of Badong, I looked at the bright moon in the west and remembered Emei. The moon rises from Emei and illuminates the vast sea, accompanying me for thousands of miles. The moonlight in front of the Yellow Crane Tower is as white as white, and I suddenly see a guest from Emei County here. The bright moon over Emei Mountain bids you off, as the wind blows westward to the streets of Chang'an. The main road of Chang'an stretches across the nine heavens, and the moon shines on Mount Emei in Qinchuan. The golden lion sits on a high seat, and the white jade deer (zhǔ, an animal like a deer) talks about the mystery. I am like a floating cloud (tì, stranded) Wu Yue, and you meet the holy lord to visit the Danque. Once you rise to fame, you will spread throughout the capital, and when you return, you will still enjoy the moon over Emei.

Mount Emei, we are here!

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