Leshan, Sichuan, China

On my last day in Chengdu, I took a day trip south to Leshan, also in Sichuan Province.


I got the train in the morning after rush hour. It only takes about an hour on the high speed train. There is a bus that goes directly from the train station to the park. It was all easy enough. On the bus, I talked to a really shy kid, maybe about 6 years old. He called he 阿姨 (ayi, auntie), which I didn't appreciate. I'd like to think I'm not yet old enough to be an aunt.

I got the the park, grabbed a snack, and headed into the park. The ticket line was my first indication that it was going to be packed. I did get my ticket in the end without much waiting. I wove through the crowds and practically ran up the steps up the mountain (well, running in comparison to the lethargic pace of the tour groups).

When I got up, I found the Buddha quite quickly. The Grand Buddha, which is carved into the side of a mountain, is the main attraction at Leshan. I also quite quickly found the queue, which would around the whole park. It looked like cows being herded in fenced-in lines, to be honest. I found the end of the line and got out my book to wait it out.

I waited for about an hour and fifteen minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. I had still at least another forty-five minutes left to wait and only about an hour before I needed to get on a bus to the train station. I decided to leave the line and see the rest of the park.

The park was disappointing, the weather was not great, there were people everywhere, and I was in a really bad mood because I couldn't see the whole view of the Buddha. From the top of the mountain you can get a decent view.

There was a cool temple in the park, which temporarily distracted me from my bad mood.

Finally, I managed to find a path without any other people on it. I cleared my head a bit, but decided to just leave the park and head back to the train station early.

I had a really bad time at Leshan. It was just a horrible day, really. But I would recommend going, as long as you don't go any time around Spring Festival or any other Chinese holiday. It was really the crowds that spoiled the trip. I hope maybe someday I can go back and actually see the Grand Buddha.