Months earlier, Steven and I had arranged to be picked up from our hotel in Chengdu for a full-day tour of the magnificent Leshan Giant Buddha and Huanglongxi Ancient Town. We were surprised and a mite bit disappointed to find out that we had no English-speaking guide or group tour. Instead, we had a Chinese-speaking driver all to ourselves who did double duty as a guide, if you can call giving us an English handout about the Buddha a guide! When Steven and I take day tours, he graciously lets me sit in the front seat beside the driver, so I can pepper him with questions and ask to stop for photo ops. It works well for him, too, as that way he gets to doze in the back seat.
As the driver didn't speak a word of English, he couldn't tell us anything about what we were seeing, which I found hard. I'd love to have known about the crops being grown, the sights along the way, and his family, etc., to gain a deeper appreciation of his life in Chengdu. Clearly, that was a no-go on the three-hour drive to the Buddha!
According to AI, this was the entrance sign for the Dongpo Love Land International Bamboo City!
Steven and I were struck at how quiet Chengdu appeared, even though it was China's fourth largest city and had a population of 14 million people. We thought that was because the thousands and thousands of bicycles and motorcycles were all electric.
The driver stopped about halfway at a mammoth service plaza for a coffee break, or was it a tea break?! It was also the site of one of Tianfu Tea's 10 manufacturing facilities, a prominent Chinese tea company. Thank goodness for English signage! It read that the "21st century is the era for the revival of China and also the time for the globalization of Chinese tea." The site was the third-largest production facility and "tea town" in Sichuan province.
An interesting sight, but I don't know what or where it was! Google Lens identified it as being 450 miles away in Fenghuang, which it wasn't.
Unfortunately, Google Lens also failed to properly identify this statue, except to say it was likely a historical Chinese figure.
The interchange was attractive from a distance, and even more so as we got closer.
Once we finally arrived at the massive Leshan Buddha complex, we only had a few minutes to catch our breath, purchase tickets for the boat trip, and take a couple of pictures before standing in line for the boat.
A sign by the lotus-flower-topped columns stated that Buddhism regards the lotus as holy because it symbolizes the Buddha and Bodhisattva transcending the world of morals and leaving behind all vanities and worldly temptations.
After the Leshan Giant Buddha was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, the Mount Emei-Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area Management Committee was formally established in 2008. Their scope of control reached almost seven square miles, which was immediately apparent once we set foot on the property.
Leshan's Ancient Dock was the first link we had with the famous Silk Road since we'd explored many of the 'Stan' countries a few years earlier. The South Silk Road, an offshoot of the famous Silk Road, connected China and India. Leshan was a vital link, as three rivers met here, with tens of thousands of ships sailing on them. Boatmen and businessmen gathered in the town of Leshan, and Buddhist monks and Taoist priests lived here. Salt, tea, herbs, silk, wood, and paper were traded via Leshan to other ports.
The boat captain made such a quick trip down the river that it felt like we hardly had time to blink! We realized later that he whizzed downriver, so he could turn the boat around and allow us time in front of the Buddha.
Sights along the river:
The world's largest stone Buddha statue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was begun by the devout monk Haitong from the nearby Lingyun Temple in 713. His hope was that Buddha's presence might calm the turbulent waters of the Dadu and Min rivers far below the statue. The rivers were consistently responsible for the loss of local fishermen's lives. Sadly, Haitong died before his labor of love was completed 90 years later.
When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity. When he died, the statue was only completed down to the shoulders. After his death, construction was still halted for several years due to insufficient funding. Once Haitong's disciples received financial support from a local official named Zhangchou Jianxiong, construction continued until the Buddha's knees were reached. But the project was halted for about 70 years when Jianxiong was called to work at the royal court.
When Jiedushi Wei Gao agreed to sponsor the project, it was completed by Haitong's disciples in 803. The beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty in 960 saw the Leshan Giant Buddha covered in moss and a wooden pavilion collapse. Both the Giant Buddha and the pavilion were extensively repaired during the reign of Song Renzong in 1063. Further records of the Buddha's maintenance and reconstruction have gone missing. The original Lingyun temple had been destroyed by war many times.
The Leshan Giant Buddha was carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red sandstone in the southern part of Sichuan province, facing Mount Emei. According to a local saying, "The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain." That is because the mountain range where the Buddha is located is thought to resemble a sleeping Buddha when viewed from the river, and the Leshan Buddha is its heart.
Many people choose to take the steep hiking trail carved into the rock beside the Buddha, then the footbridge, to view the Buddha up close. But our research indicated that we'd have a far better vantage point from the river.
On the cliffs flanking the 71-meter Leshan Giant Buddha were two 52-ft.-tall carved stone warriors or Dharma guardians in battle robes. I read that they were part of a massive complex containing thousands of smaller carved Buddhas and Buddha-related niches on the cliff walls, but we couldn't see the other items from our vantage point on the river.
The Leshan Giant Buddha comes by its name honestly! The statue is a staggering 233 feet or ten stories high, which makes it about the size of the Statue of Liberty if the Buddha were upright! The only taller Buddha is the Great Buddha of Thailand, which is made of concrete.
When the Giant Buddha was carved, a 13-story wooden structure was built to protect it from rain and sunshine. But it was sacked and destroyed by the Mongols during the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368. Ever since, the stone statue has remained exposed to the elements.
It was impossible not to admire the Buddha's calm form and the perfect proportion of his body. I didn't realize then that it met the requirements of a statute built during the Tang Dynasty. Amazingly, the big Buddha, who represented Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, has survived civil war and periods of anti-Buddhist mischief.
Buddha's feet were so large that they could hold an audience of 100 sightseers on the platform in front! His smallest toenail is large enough to easily accommodate a person sitting down!
It was only later that I realized I had captured a photo of one of the shrines by the statue.
Some fun facts! The Buddha could look down with his 10-foot-wide eyes. His hair comprised 1,021 spiraled curls (but who's counting!) embedded in his head, measuring 48 ft. high and 33 ft. wide. His ears, which can hold two people inside, are 23 ft. long. His eyebrows are 18 ft. long, and his fingers are 27 ft. long.
Haitong and his disciples incorporated a sophisticated drainage system into the Buddha when they built it, which remains in working order. The drainage system, consisting of hidden gutters and channels embedded on the head, arms, behind the ears, and in the clothes, helps displace rainwater and reduce erosion and weathering.
Contrary to what we read in two travel books, according to the handout the driver had given us, the massive construction removed so much stone from the cliff and deposited it in the rivers below that the rivers' currents were indeed altered by the statue, making the water safe for passing boats.
When we reached the port, a display on Buddhism in Leshan referenced the floods people used to suffer from at the confluence of the three rivers. Haitong reportedly sympathized with the people and decided to build the Giant Buddha to bless them.
Once the Buddha was finally completed 90 years later, it was said that, "Leshan is born to Buddhism and Buddha has been blessing Leshan ever since."
Our driver then whisked us toward Huanglixi Ancient Town.
The lotus theme I mentioned earlier was also carried over into the miles upon miles of lotus-shaped street lamps on the highway.
The structure looked like a traditional Chinese ancient city wall and watchtower, built for defense, and now an iconic historical landmark. The distinctive upward-curving eaves on the roof were a key element of Chinese architecture.
Rice paddies:
Overhead lights flashed like crazy for traffic scofflaws! I recall that, somehow, the driver conveyed that, without traffic-light cameras to record traffic violators, drivers would normally drive at excessive speeds. The cameras were also omnipresent on all major city streets, with traffic constantly monitored. That had also been the case several days earlier in Lhasa, Tibet, but to an even greater extent. There, drivers' every action and comment were being monitored in real time, which was far too Big Brotherish for our liking.
We saw multiple examples of unfinished housing complexes and rapid urban development that have led to an overwhelming financial crisis across China. Leshan was acutely affected by the real estate disaster.
Huanglixi Ancient Town, a 1,700-year-old town from the Qin Dynasty, has since become a famous location for period films.
There was a daunting list of what not to do in Huanglixi, "to build up a civilized and harmonious tourism environment related to the interests of every tourist." There could be no yelling or shouting out loud, no talking loudly in public places, no littering, no standing in the way, no defacing bathroom supplies, no sneezing at others, no coveting little advantages, no wasting food, and the list went on and on! We also had to show courtesy and resist "feudal superstitious activity," whatever that was!
The ancient town held a strategic position on the Huanglong River in the ancient Shu state. It became the political center and stronghold for military defense in the Shuhan Kingdom. The ancient town has been developed as a scenic destination and is "honored as one of the first provincial historical and cultural towns and scenic resorts in Sichuan Province."
The 2,100-year-old town was known in ancient times as Chishui because of the nearby Red River. According to local lore, a yellow dragon surfaced, presenting the locals with a spectacle lasting as long as nine days. Then a dragon-shaped cauldron was cast and submerged in the river.
During the Tang and Song dynasties, Huanglixi became Chengdu's water transport hub, bustling with boats and merchants.
The pedestrian street leading into town was lined with charming market stalls on both sides.
The shops and countless restaurants ended at what we could only describe as a small water park! That was certainly not what we were expecting or hoping for in the ancient town - oh well, it was a lovely day by then.
A few minutes' walk from the water park brought us some respite from the noise and mayhem.
Older people were playing Mahjong, a tile game which originated in China in the 19th century.
A fish pedicure, anyone? I tried it in Thailand years ago, but after hearing that garra rufa fish are often starved to get them to eat dead skin cells and that the tanks are banned in many places because of the risk of infection, I'm not going to try it again.
By the time we discovered the boat rides, it was too late to enjoy what would have been a peaceful outing.
Two hours were plenty in Huanglixi - parts of it were quite charming, but I didn't get a sense that there was anything behind the facade. Unlike so many other places in our many travels, we didn't mind bidding it adieu and heading back to Chengdu.
We shop at Walmart all the time, but seeing it in China was bizarre!
The metro entrance:
Dinner time back in Chengdu after a great day, all in all:
Next post: Discovering more of Chengdu: People's Park, the Tibetan Quarter, and more!
Posted on March 2nd, 2026, from home in Denver's suburb of Littleton. The events that took place this past weekend in Iran have shaken the world. Who knows what it will take to right the ship that has so veered off course? Please take care of yourself and your loved ones during these extraordinarily challenging times.
