Leshan Giant Buddha is one of the famous attractions in China located to the east of Leshan City, Sichuan Province. Located at the confluence of Min River, Qingyi River and Dadu River, it is a statue of Maitreya carved on the cliff with the long history of over 1,200 years. In December, 1996, the Buddha was listed as the World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

Leshan Giant Buddha is very huge, which is wide enough for more than 100 people standing at its feed shoulder by shoulder. The statue is 71 meters high with a 10 meters wide head, 7 meters long year, 3.3 meters long eye, 5.6 meters long nose, 28 meters wide shoulder, 8.3 meters long figure and 8.5 meters wide foot.

The charm of the Giant Buddha is not only for its size, one of the achievements is the attention to details. There are 1,021 buns in the Buddha's coiled hair, skillfully embedded in the head; the ears were created with wood; a robe was sculpted as a part of the Buddha; the body is designed to drain water after rain. Besides the careful design of the details, another achievement is the drainage system. This part is made up of some hidden gutters and plays an important role in the Buddha protection. Scattered on the head, arms, behind the ears and in the robe, it helps drain the rainwater and keeps the inner part dry.

About the origin of Leshan Giant Buddha, there is a fairy tale. It is said that the project was initiated by a monk called Hai Tong. In ancient times, there usually had rainstorm at the confluence of the three rivers and numerous boat accidents were happened here. Local people were suffered from the floods year after year. So Hai Tong decided to carve a statue beside the river, because he thought that the Buddha would bring the water spirit under control. And that was the original Leshan Giant Buddha.

Leshan Giant Buddha is regarded as the world's largest stone-carved Buddha at present. Carved on the cliff, facing the river, the Buddha has symmetrical posture. There is a popular local saying: "The Mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain". With such a long history and enjoying a worldwide reputation, Leshan Giant Buddha is really worth a visit during your tour to Chengdu!