Thursday, December 26, 2013

Giant Buddha of Leshan

On our way to Mount Emei, we stopped by to visit the Giant Buddha of Leshan in Sichuan. It is the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world and was carved out of the rocks of the big hill that faces the river.




 1. This is the entrance where you need to walk up thousands of steep steps until the top of the hill in order to reach the giant Buddha's head, before trekking down its narrow path to reach the front of the statue.




2. My honey was pointing at this special word. What does it say?




 3. It was a chilly Monday and there was still a big crowd of mainland folks from other towns. They all looked so different in facial features and spoke weird & rough Mandarin slangs.



4. We could see the panoramic view of the Leshan city nearby across the river.



5. I was still halfway to the top and had to stop. I wanted to pretend to pose for photograph as I was almost dying and gasping for oxygen!! It was difficult to breathe in the thin winter air.




6.  There are several temples up on the Leshan Hills and this one is the Amitabha Buddha's temple where many monks were doing chanting.




7. When I visited any temple in overseas, I would always pay my respects to seek for their blessings and protection so that my vacation would be a happy & safe one. We can always donate cash into their donation boxes or funds to build / repair temples.





8. At the peak of the hill, one could see the top most part of the stone carved Buddha's statue.




9. There was another smaller temple with the Laughing Buddha's statue inside and flanked by the majestic looking 4 Heavenly Kings' statues.



10. There is a statue of the Chinese monk Haitong who collected funds to build the statue in year 713. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels traveling 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. 



11. My wife posed with the Buddha's statue.






 12. After walking around for an hour, we got ready to start trekking down with the crowd through the very narrow alleys on the hill side.Many parts were so narrow that I had to turn my body side ways to get through. Many silly ladies wore very high and pointed heeled boots to walk. They suffered like crazy!




 13. When I reached below, I gasped at the sight of the steep steps and crowds jamming their way down. It was quite a long climb down.






14. At last, I could see the whole carved statue which looked amazing. It has many special holes on the whole structure which helped the rain water to flow out.
 



15. 2 crazy guys took turns to pose like that. I was amused and decided to snap their photos. We could not step back any further to snap photos as the huge river was there.





 16. Everyone had to use another route through some old caves to climb up to the same hill again. From there, everyone would have to use another path with steps to return to the main road below. I hope that I did not confuse you about the whole hill which had to make one way walking directions to control the huge crowds of the tourists.



 17. When I reached the top, I could smell some fresh buns steaming in the air and that made me greedy as usual. I always like to try everything in a foreign country be it delicious or horrendous. So look at my stuffed pancake! SOS! I had to take out my McD's sauces to kill their taste.




 18. On my way down the other side of the hill, I spotted this unique pagoda temple atop. It was built during ancient times to serve as a landmark to warn passing fishermen and boat vessels that they were approaching the dangerous river currents where many boats had capsized.

I still have several posts to share and I am not sure whether to post them all (?)

Chunxi Road Shopping Haven / Mount Emei / Liu Bei's Tombs / Yongling Mausoleum of Emperor Wan Jiang / Taoism Temple / Manjusri Temple / Luodai Ancient Streets / Narrow Wide Street


51 comments:

  1. Good afternoon TM... It was raining for a while over here and has stop, kaka...

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    1. The place was crowded as saw from some of the pictures you took...

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    2. Same with me, i will try things in a foreign country that i never try before, hehe...

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    3. Wah! You scared me! I have not finished editing and you have commented already! Thank you!

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    4. Pls share with us the other posts... :)

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    5. anay, touch-n-go is always faster than queuing in the cash lanes~~ :p

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  2. Wah, jung yau part 2 wor.. Good, good.. Today the office is empty, with 3/4 of the people gone on leave.. So basically I am hogging the pc whole day, and glad to see your updates now.. At least I can komen a bit while waiting to go home, kekeke..

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    1. I tak tau mandarin, so I don't know what Chinese word is that...
      So what word is that?

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    2. I'm laughing when you said you were pretending to pose for photograph but padahal, you were too tired and panting for air.. kakaka.. I thought nothing is too difficult for you.. How sei ding also you will deng ngang seong..

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    3. Wait.. Is that your name which you were writing on that metal thingy?

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    4. I'm surprised why this time you didn't call those silly ladies bimbos or dumb blondes.. Haha..

      They were indeed silly to wear high heeled boots knowing that climbing that steep & narrow mountain was part of the itinerary.. Haiz.. Bimbos.. Oi leng mm moi meang..

      Even if they wana stick with their boots, please la, wear flat ones la.. Aiyoyo..

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    5. What's inside the pancake? Kosong?
      You mean you brought those packet cili sos with you in your pouch whereever you go?

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    6. KNS this LouizYee always break my streak.. i want to go one corner and sulk~~

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    7. I totally understand Anay.

      When I'm running in races, I used to use the excuse of taking photos to stop for a rest and some air and not look like I'm actually dying from tiredness. LOL

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  3. oh, the Giant Buddha of Leshan!! i was surprised to see the year 713 when they started to build the statue!! wow, that was indeed very very long time ago, and they already have the technology to carve such a gigantic Buddha on the hills, and it is still the largest in the world now!! amazing huh?? but i guess there is no more flooding now??

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    1. Wah, SK very knowledgeable wor... Means you know / heard about the Giant Buddha of Leshan?
      I tak pernah dengar leh.. Haiz, I know my knowledge is shallow la..

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    2. I know sure SK will say I interrupted his komens, thus, he cannot komen in a nice streak liao..

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    3. what??!! Anay didn't know what word Letchumy was pointing at?? aiyoyo, i thought you know that word since you are such a "nam moh lou", muahahaha.. ooopsss, just kidding lah.. that word is 佛 (fo) meaning Buddha lah.. i thought you at least will ask Letchumy the word??

      that word didn't actually interest me, but i am more happy to know who actually wrote that word, it's from the very famous 蘇軾 (Su Shi or more commonly known as Su Dong Po), who was a writer, poet, painter, calligrapher, pharmacologist, gastronome, and a statesman during the Sung Dynasty..

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    4. My gawd.. You even know who wrote that word?

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    5. Wait, did TM mention this somewhere in this post? Maybe I cock-eye didnt read...
      Or SK is really darn knowledgeable to know about this..
      OMG..

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    6. great shot of Leshan city at photo #4 dei.. surprise to see how developed and modern this city is, i thought this place is just to see the giant buddha and nothing else, so probably just a small town with little tourist facilities.. and that photo shows all the three major rivers of the city - Min River (岷江), Qingyi River (青衣江) and Dadu River (大渡河)??

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    7. aiyoh, look closer at the photo, i think probably Letchumy wasn't pointing at the bigger word 佛 but instead the two smaller words which is the author of the writing 蘇軾.. Anay didn't mention that anywhere in the post, but i see that in the photo itself lah..

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    8. yeah, quite complicated you have so many different routes to go up and down the hill, enter and exit the venue of the statue, hahaha!! but i think it's kind of good that they have good control of the flow of people this way.. if everyone is going to use the same stairs to access all the places, i am sure Anay will not be able to take happy photos, but instead he will show his DKL face already~~ :D

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    9. Lee Khai Fatt?? is that your father?? so you donated money to the temple on his behalf huh?? hmmm, nice pre-birthday present for him!! i am sure he will be blessed.. who was there to write the names on the tiles?? paid and write them on your own?? how many tiles did Anay buy to write the names?? aiyoh, nice deed lah..

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    10. so the Buddha was built just by the river front?? as you said you cannot step backwards anymore while snapping that squatting-and-exposing-his-underwear-and-almost-his-butt-crack guy.. that means the river just run by the foot of the hill, so little space in between!! wow, and did Anay find out why that particular spot the Giant Buddha was built?? for fengshui?? and which of the three rivers it is facing??

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    11. so Anay still has another 8 posts to blog about?? or at least 8 posts for the remaining 8 places you have been?? hmm, now i know, usually bloggers will blog by the places they go, and not blog by the day like i always do, haha!! no wonder i can finished in just a few posts, but some bloggers can drag until 30 over posts (with more than 30 photos in a single post) for just a few days of trip..

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    12. I can drag a two-weeks' trip into several posts that span for two years! Bwahaha

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    13. ooopsss, my bad!! i mixed up Anay's middle name with his surname!! that's Lee and not Tan, so could not be Anay's father.. Anay must be doing something good for other people around him, he is ever always so kind-hearted, Anay has a big heart i love~~ :)

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  4. I remember Samantha Brown's TV program where she visited this place. It was super duper crowded.

    But the crowd thinned a lot, leaving the place rather empty around 3-4pm.

    She went there during one of China's holiday, if I'm not mistaken. ;)

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  5. Please post everything Anay!

    We would love to see everything!!!

    And for me, I can learn new stuff about Chinese culture. :)

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  6. The pancakes tasted bad kah? @.@

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  7. Wow..thousand steps?? I think i wouldnt get to make it...:)

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  8. I've been there, but didn't go out I just took the river cruise to see the giant buddha from the river side!!!

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  9. The steps were really steep ! Quite a challenging trek it seems. Btw, lots of movies filmed with the giant Buddha as a backdrop.

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  10. I like pic 4..so beautiful. Wow, it must be really tiring to try those steps but it definitely worth it. I would surely climb those steps too should I be there. Interesting information and statue of Buddha is always awesome.

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  11. I always see this huge Buddha statue in those Chinese movie..'Fong Wan' - if not mistaken..LOL. Now I really know it does exist..

    Wow..you are smart to chuck in some chili sauce on the go. That's really a good idea when the food needs some kicking.

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  12. I'm not much of a temple person, but I've certainly enjoyed your tour :)

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  13. Not related but when you mentioned thousand step to reach..it reminds me of the story of Nah Char. He repent. Walk three step kowtow once repetitively till arrive at temple

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    1. I dunno the chinese word letchumi pointing at. My guess is futt...as in buddha/Buddhist?

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    2. Monday morning and so many visitors. Not having festival is it? These are the people genuine paying homage to Buddha.

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    3. Donation then write name. Afyer that what do they do with the tiles?

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    4. Gosh it's very steep ...I think I will pening if I step there coz of yhe height

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    5. I think I know what the two guys trying to do. Mbe means to convey msg say "pong futt kiok"(angkat kaki buddha) ..like ppl say tmw wanna exam tonight baru angkat kaki buddha

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    6. Adoi that bad ah the food. Thought all those walking would hv made you famished. Not tasty food also will be come tasty. But at leastvthe silver lining is that you tarak lausai la

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  14. Love this Giant Buddha of Leshan!! But to get there ….OMG!!

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  15. I suppose it's more fun if there were not so many tourists and people there right?

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  16. OMG! Those steep steps beside the hill!! Makes me dizzy already! LOL! But I don't mind walking those stairs! Will surely be good memory for me!

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  17. Errr…so you did not like the buns? You had to eat it with the McD's sauce? :D

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  18. Love the last picture with the unique pagoda temple in the background! And the photo of the giant Buddha of Leshan is awesome! :)

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