01 Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
Tourists descend the slippery stone Staircase of Nine Turns to the Buddha's feet.
02 Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
A guardian figure standing to the right of the Buddha. He can only be seen from the river.
03 Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
The Staircase of Nine Turns, a slippery walk on a rainy day such as this was.
Maitreya Buddha
The colossal statue depicts a Maitreya Buddha. He looks over the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers toward Emei Shan, bringing peace to the once turbulent waters below. All photos in this set taken from the deck of a river ferry.
Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
Giant Buddha statue
The statue is 71 meters tall. For comparison, the Colossus of Rhodes was approximately 30 meters tall. The Statue of Liberty stands at 46 m, excluding the pedestal.
Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
Big feet
Tourists admire the great Buddha's great big feet, both of which rest on the ground as befitting a Maitreya Buddha.
Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
Buddha hand
The Buddha's enormous hands rest on his enormous knees.
Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
Giant Buddha
In 713 AD, the monk Haitong had the idea of carving a giant Buddha image to calm the turbulent waters of the river confluence below, which had been a problem for shipping for centuries before. When funding for the project was threatened, he blinded himself to demonstrate his sincerity and piety. The project was finally completed in 803 AD by his followers. The rubble produced from the carving did indeed calm the raging waters below.
Dafo Giant Buddha at Leshan, Sichuan Province.
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