Emei Mountain and Giant Buddha of Leshan

Emei Mountain,seven kilometerssouthwest of Emeishan City ,is one of the four mountain ranges in Chinathat Buddhists consider sacred. The mountain stretches more than 200kilometers from south to north. Its main peak, Wanfo Top, is 3,099meters above sea level.
The first Buddhist temple in China was built here in SichuanProvince in the 1st century A.D. in the beautiful surroundings of thesummit of Mount Emei. In the Ming and Qing dynasties there were morethan 150 temples.
A legend claims that the mountain was where Samantabhadra gavelectures on Buddhism and most temples house a statue of Samantabhadra.The main scenic spots on the mountain include the Baoguo Temple,Wannian Temple, Fohu Temple, Qingyin Pavilion, Heilongjiang Tunnel,Hongchun Platform, Xianfeng Temple (Jiulao Cave), Xixiang Pond andGolden Summit. These places are at different altitudes and havedifferent climates. Temperatures at the top of mountain are 15 degreeslower than at the foot. The mountain which supports more than 3,000varieties of plants and many animals is an important scenic area.
Baoguo Temple sits at the foot of the mountain at the entrance andexit of the mountain area. The temple was built during the reign ofMing Emperor Wanli (1573-1620). About 15 kilometers from the BaoguoTemple is Wannian Temple, one of the main temples in the mountain area.Wannian Temple, or the Temple of Samantabhadra as it was known beforethe Ming Dynasty, was built during the reign of Emperor Long'an of theEastern Jin Dynasty (397-401). It has no beams and houses a bronzestatue of Buddha Samantabhadra mounted on a six-toothed white elephantcast in 980, the fifth year of the Northern Song Dynasty. The statue is7.3 meters high and weighs 62 tons.
Temple is situated at the foot of the Jiulao Peak and the old hallswere built with tin sheets and iron tiles. The intact halls wererebuilt in 1779, the 44th year of the reign of the Qing EmperorQianlong. At the foot of Fohu Hill, Fohu Temple is located onekilometer west of Baoguo Temple and is one of the largest in themountain area. It was rebuilt in 1651, the eighth year of the reign ofQing Emperor Shunzhi. It covers an area of 13,000 square meters and isaccessible from the highway. At the Golden Summit, the pinnacle of themountain area 3,065 meters above sea level, is Puguang Hall or Temple.It was constructed during the Eastern Han Dynasty and has been rebuiltseveral times after being struck by lightning. The Golden Summit is anideal place to view the sunrise, the sea of clouds, the "Buddhistlights" and sacred lamps." Emei Mountain is a well-known natural museumwith more than 3000 specimens of plants and 2,000 types of animalsincluding groups of monkeys that appear on the mountain roads andfascinate the tourists. Mount Emei is also notable for itsexceptionally diverse vegetation, ranging from subtropical to subalpinepine forests. Some of the trees there are more than 1,000 years old.
The most remarkable is the Giant Buddha of Leshan, on the east bankMinjiang River in Leshan City, carved out of a hillside in the 8thcentury and looking down on the confluence of three rivers theMinjiang, Qingyi and Dadu and at its back is the western slope ofLingyun Mountain. It is the largest Buddha in the world.Standing at70.7 meters with shoulders 24 meters wide it is an impressive sight. Awater drainage system reduces erosion by rain and slows weathering.
The statue was begun in 713 and completed in 803, the 19th year ofthe reign of the Tang Emperor Dezhong. To the right of the statue aplank road with turns was built and it is now famous as the nine-turnplank road; it goes from bottom to the top.
Included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1996.