• Leshan

• Name in Chinese characters: 乐山市
• Name in Pinyin: Lèshān Shì
• Status: Prefecture-level city

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• Leshan Prefecture lies to the south of Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan. The city lies in the north of the prefecture at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers. Two of its southern counties are Autonomous, being the domains of Yi Minority people.

  

  Travel

  Leshan does not have an airport of its own. It is best accessed from Chengdu (Airport code: CTU).

  Leshan is poorly served by rail and is better accessed by road. It is now connected to Chengdu by expressway.

  Attractions For Visitors

  Leshan Prefecture has one major attraction - the Mount Emei Scenic Area, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. This actually consists of two sites: Emei Shan - the mountain - and Dafo - better known as the Giant Buddha, which is located across the river from the downtown proper.

  Dafo provides five real options:

  • There is the site itself, the giant statue and its attached temples;
  • a Buddhist theme park with copies of various statues from around the Buddhist world
  • a boat trip to see the statue from the river (which is highly recommended);
  • a small set of Tombs towards the south gate exit; and
  • a peaceful monastery on the hilltop looking down and across at the temples, accessed by a rather lovely bridge.
  
  

  The downtown has nothing special to offer other than its normality. This is the real China. There are some nice hotels and it could be worth a stopover, especially if you plan to head off to Emei Shan next.

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• Current Comments

  4 comments so far (post your own)

  Hi Michael
  
  Yes - that's possible. If you catch one of the evening trains you'll be there next morning. That won't leave enough time for both sites but you should be able to do one and get in position for the next - whichever order you decide on. Emei first, perhaps

  Posted by China Journeys on Tue 14 Feb, 2012

  I want to see the Big Buddha and maybe Emei Shan too. I'll be coming from Kunming and I read that I can get off the train at Emei station. Is that right?

  Posted by Michael on Tue 14 Feb, 2012

  Hi Dimfy
  
  A private car is best arranged through a travel service. This way you can be assured that the car and driver will have the required licences and insurance. If only going for a day excursion you could try to negotiate a rate with a taxi driver but few would know the sites in Leshan city and so you might waste a lot of time. The drive takes about 2 hours (depending very much on the traffic getting out of Chengdu).
  
  Getting to Emei Shan from Leshan is only a matter of 40 minutes or so by car. There are frequent public buses from the bus station in the city proper, which is across the river from the Big Buddha.
  
  Our Beyond Chengdu: Emei Shan trip visits both sites. Take a look and see if this suits your plans.

  Posted by China Journeys on Tue 7 Feb, 2012

  Access by road is recommended to view Dafo. How can this be arranged and what links are available to travel on to visit Emei Shan.

  Posted by Dimfy on Tue 7 Feb, 2012

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