Day Trip to the Leshan Buddha from Chengdu
In case you aren’t aware, I love Buddha. Not in a “I am Buddhist” type of way, but in a I respect the concepts of inner peace and find the image of Buddha to be very calming. Therefore, I had to jump at the chance to take a day trip to the Leshan Buddha, the largest stone Buddha in the world.
At 71m tall, the Leshan Buddha is debated to be the biggest Buddha in the world. Yet, upon research, there are a few taller/longer ones. So, I’m not sure how they judge it as the biggest…
How to Get to the Leshan Buddha from Chengdu
For a day trip to the Leshan Buddha, you will need to make your way to the Xinnanmen Tourist Bus Station in Chengdu. Buy the bus ticket to Leshan City in the ticket office. It costs ¥45 and buses run regularly, supposedly about every twenty minutes. The ride lasts between 2-3 hours depending on traffic.
Upon arrival in Leshan, you can catch the public bus number 13 for ¥2 or there are shuttles that run directly to the Buddha for ¥5. If you are only looking to see the Leshan Buddha, you need to enter at the North Entrance. I did not know that and ended up at a different entrance and was redirected to the North Entrance, about a mile walk.
Leshan Buddha Tickets
The ticket to to Leshan Buddha includes the Wuyou Temple and Tombs for ¥90. If you wish to see the Oriental Park area and the Leshan Buddha it’s ¥170.
Visiting the Leshan Buddha: The Full Experience
Upon entering at the North Entrance, it’s a pretty easy climb up to the head of the giant Leshan Buddha. Up at the top you are greeted by a temple and hoards of people. The line to actually get down to the feet of the Buddha was marked at an hour and a half when I got in line.
In an hour, I was at the front of the line, but it took half an hour to get down the stairs as everyone is pushing and taking pictures. (Hint, the view changes very slowly as you descend, you don’t need a picture from each step!).
Once at the bottom, you can gaze up at the Buddha. The size is truly incredible, especially when you take a look at the size of the hands and feet! Snap a few photos and start your trek back up. The good news is it’s not as crowded going up, the bad news is it’s all stairs and fully in the sun. By the time you get to the top you might feel like you’re melting. I treated myself to ice cream as a reward for surviving.
Alternate Ways to Visit the Leshan Buddha
The other alternative for people not wanting to wait in line to see Leshan Buddha or for those unable to tackle hundreds of stairs is to take a ferry on the water in front of the Buddha. The ferries stop in front for a while so people can admire it and take photos.
Originally the Buddha was actually built to look over the waterway as it was an extremely dangerous convergence of three rivers. Supposedly, once the Buddha was complete the number of accidents went down, but there’s also scientific evidence that the number of rocks that fell in the river actually changed some of the dangerous currents. In any case, Leshan Buddha watches over the rivers.
Exploring around the Leshan Buddha
Having tackled the Buddha, the rest of the day for me was up in the air. As it seemed a shame to head back to Chengdu immediately after taking so long to get here, I headed further into the park to check out the Wuyou Temple and Tombs since they were included in my ticket.
The hike through the park is actually quite awesome and peaceful once away from the crowded Leshan Buddha area. The tombs museum was a bit underwhelming for me, but I’ve seen a lot of tombs carved into the mountain side – most recently in Petra. It then took me through the fishermans village which is shaped like a boat, features many souvenir stands, and little restaurants featuring their fresh catches outside in pools of water. If you want turtle, snake, fish, or crawfish for lunch, you’re in luck!
Beyond that, I hit the Wuyou Temple Bridge, and I have to say, it was stunning! Curious what the temple itself looked like, I made my way up more never ending stairs to a completely empty temple other than a monk chanting in the main hall. Everything about it was inspiring. In some ways seeing the more deserted areas of the park were more pleasant than the hustle and bustle and pushing near Leshan Buddha. However, you have to go see the Leshan Buddha!
Getting Back to Chengdu from the Leshan Buddha
From the Wuyou Temple I followed the stairs down to the South Exit with signs pointing to bus 13 to take you back to the city. Not going to lie, I have no idea where it took me. I was spit out in a parking lot with a group playing cards and a snack stand. A lady asked “Chengdu?”. I replied yes, and she made a phone call and handed the phone to me to arrange a ride.
A guy came and picked me up and dropped me (for free) at a bus near the first entrance I visited, going to Chengdu for ¥50. All in all, it rounded out to the same ¥50 as on the way there just on a tourist bus vs. the public bus.
In all fairness, I’m not sure where the public bus 13 was supposed to be as the South Exit doesn’t come out near any main roads. It would have taken over twenty minutes to get to one, if you could find it. Note: Don’t take the South Exit from Wuyou Temple!
The buses in both directions were completely packed, mostly Chinese of course, but I did sit next to a Chinese man who lived in Delaware for a while who had an English translator on his phone so was trying to tell me where to go in the area. He even greeted me with s jolly “Good morning!” which shocked me since English is so limited.
On the way back I sat next to a little French girl as her parents were in other parts of the bus, and I think they deemed me safe. All in all, it was a good day trip to the Leshan Buddha, and I returned to Chengdu fulfilled and ready for panda time!
Plan More of Your Trip to China
If a do-it-yourself day trip to the Leshan Buddha is not for you. You can also do pre-booked tours to the Leshan Buddha. They will take care of all of the logistics to help make your visit go smoothly. Some even include the Panda Sanctuary in Chengdu.
Headed to other parts of China? Read on to find more planning tips for traveling around China.
- Guangzhou: Introduction to China
- Guilin: Finding Oz in China
- Chengdu: Visiting the Giant Pandas
- Beijing: Busiest City in China
- Day Trip to the Great Wall of China from Beijing: The Essential Travel Guide
- How to Visit the Terracotta Warriors & What Else to Do in Xi’an
- Day Trip to Mount Hua and the Infamous Plank Walk from Xi’an
- Long Distance Train Travel in China
- Shanghai: Modern Day China
- Zhjiajiao: Visiting a Watertown
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