The Leshan Sprit Guide to the Leshan Giant Buddha

Let me tell you, standing in the shadow of the Leshan Giant Buddha is something you won’t soon forget. Its massive frame and intricate detail are truly breathtaking.

While it’s a huge hit with locals, it’s still a bit of a hidden gem for many foreign travelers.

If you’re ready to experience this incredible wonder for yourself, I’m here to guide you through every step of planning your trip.

P.S. Take note that visiting the Leshan Giant Buddha is not for the faint of heart. It is not wheelchair or stroller accessible, as it includes hilly terrain on uneven paver-rock surfaces, and roughly 1 million stairs (give or take).

What is the Leshan Giant Buddha?

Picture this: a colossal Buddha, 71 meters high, patiently watching over the Dadu River, carved straight into the rock. It’s the Leshan Giant Buddha, a project started by a determined monk in 713 AD. 

What’s truly astonishing is the sheer dedication it took to complete this masterpiece.

Despite repeated financial setbacks, it was finally completed after 90 years. You’ll find this incredible work of art in Leshan, a city within the heart of China’s Sichuan Province, a perfect day trip from Chengdu.

A Little Background

I traveled to China several times a year for a handful of years back in my 20’s (and before COVID).

Like any single 20-something, I made the most of every work trip and usually spent 3-5 days exploring a new destination. I’ve climbed the Great Wall at Badaling, explored the depths of the Terra Cotta Warrior Army and strolled through the classical gardens of Suzhou.

If someone recommended a destination in China, I hopped on the train after work and was on my way. For this reason, I was adamant that I travel carry-on only, so I didn’t have a heavy suitcase holding me back.

This also meant that the only attire I ever brought to China was business casual. I’ve meandered all over China in nothing but dress pants and a pair of loafers.

When to visit the Leshan Giant Buddha

I’m from South Dakota, so I like to think that I’m hardy to cold, harsh weather. I visited Leshan in December and let me tell you, it was COLD.

South Dakota’s dry, windy winters did not prepare me for the damp cold of the Chinese heartland that chills you to the bone.

However, my visit coincided with shoulder season, so I didn’t have to squeeze through hoards of people. One thing you should understand about China is how absolutely crowded attractions can be.

If you’re ever lucky enough to visit the Bund in Shanghai on a clear night with a full moon, be prepared to see more people than you even knew existed on the planet.

Anyways, since it was shoulder season, I was able to actually move around, and get the ever elusive photo of the Buddha with no people. 

If you want to avoid the crowds (and the blistering heat and humidity), try to visit in spring or autumn. The most crowded times are June-August when school is out, Chinese New Year in January or February, and Golden week in early October. 

If you do visit in winter, you will see the smallest crowds, but make sure you layer up (and don’t let your pride get in the way of packing warmer clothes). 

Getting to the Leshan Giant Buddha

Your home base will likely be Chengdu for this visit, which you can reach via flight from most airports within China.

You can take the train from Chengdu to Leshan, which will take about an hour, depending which Chengdu train station to start from and what time of day.

To make it easy, Leshan only has 1 train station, and from there you’ll want to get on the special bus #3, which starts running at 9am. You’ll ride the bus for 20 stops, or about 45 minutes, to get to the Giant Buddha bus stop you’re looking for.

While you will find a smidge of English in Shanghai and Beijing, English is so incredibly rare anywhere else in China.

My Chinese only consists of “no meat” and “no cilantro.” While these are very important phrases for a cilantro-hating vegetarian, it could, admittedly, be quite limiting.

The stop for the Giant Buddha isn’t marked (at least not in English), so after about 45 minutes, I got off at the stop I figured was probably close enough (right in front of a building with some beautiful Buddhist statues carved into a large gate, so it was an educated guess, although looking back it was pretty obvious).

When I got off the bus, there were 2 police officers watching my glaringly obvious confusion on which way to go. I asked one of them which way to go and he pointed me one way, so off I went. 

After several minutes of walking along a tree-lined muddy riverbank, questioning whether the policeman sent me on a wild-goose chase, I saw a foreigner ahead of me who looked like a hiker who knew what he was doing, so I followed him for a while.

After a long walk, and always choosing the stairs over the easy route (which doesn’t exist), I landed at the South Entrance.

It took about 30 minutes to walk from the bus stop to the entry gate. 

So close! Yet so far…

Once you purchase your ticket and get through the entrance, you’ve still got a ways to go. There are (at last!) signs in English pointing you in the right direction.

The path inside the gate to the Buddha is well defined and winds through a beautiful bamboo forest littered with mossy rocks and ancient stairs.

My advice? Take it easy and enjoy the view – it’s really quite beautiful and offers a rare moment of quiet seclusion.

Along the path there was a lady selling tickets to see the Sleeping Buddha. I declined, because I thought it might be a scam, but later learned it was a legit offer. I hope you get to see what I missed!

The entrance to the Giant Buddha. On the right is the ticket office.

There’s bamboo growing everywhere in the area surrounding the Buddha. The walk is really quite beautiful!

The Grand Finale

After miles of walking and seemingly endless stairs, you’ve arrived! You will start at the top of the statue, which will make you feel so small.

There is only one way down the Buddha, which is a narrow stairwell carved into the cliff. On the open side is of course the statue you came to see. The other side has intricate temple carvings the entire 71 meters down.

The climb down is slow, as it should be. The farther you go, the more astonishing the Buddha’s size is.

Once you reach the bottom, and you realize that his big toe is bigger than your car, you can’t help but feel a profound sense of wonder at the incredible feat of engineering that ancient hands accomplished.

Ending your visit

Many people recommend starting at the East Entrance and leaving through the South Exit. Either way, it’s about a half hour walk from the bus stop.

As it turns out, the East Entrance had construction during my visit, which is why the policeman directed me the way he did (so he didn’t send me on a wild-goose chase!).

There were again no signs in English, so I again found myself following someone who looked like they knew what they were doing to leave. The old man I followed out the East Exit hopped the construction fence, so I figured I could too. Loafers or not.

Getting Back to Chengdu

Whether you finish at the East or South Exit, it’ll still take you about a half hour to walk back to the bus stop. There’s a small sign on the side of the road with the bus numbers (special bus #3 again).

When I got on the bus, I asked the bus driver if he was going to the train station (with a lot of help from the portable Translater).

I tried to get off at the ginormous bus station (which seemed like a good place to get off), the bus driver yelled at me to sit back down. Yes, he meant well, but he was a little rough around the edges.

Turns out the bus station is one stop before the train station, and he saved me a lot of extra walking after being exhausted from all my Buddha steps.

FAQs About Leshan Buddha Statue