Leshan

On Tuesday, Sichuan University took us foreigners on a field trip to Leshan. Leshan is the site of the world's largest Buddha, which is carved into a cliff overlooking the Dadu river. The Buddah hasn't always been the largest, Leshan owes the Taliban for that favor.

We were asked to arrive at SU's East Gate at 8:00 to load up the buses. In the beginning of the sememster, we were given a list of places we could go free of charge on school sponsored field trips. This one was by far the most popular, with most of the foreign students turning out.

We drove several hours out of Chengdu before arriving at large park (I don't remember the name) in a small town (still don't know the name). In true Chinese fashion, we were given a half-hour to take pictures of the important stuff, and then rounded up for the next leg of our trip.

The Chinese have the Americans beat when it comes to parks. In the US, when you go to a park that is say, in the woods, it will look like the woods. Not so in China. Every park I have been to has been meticulously planned. The scenery is stunning, the plants are beautiful, and the buildings look as though they are a part of nature.
Leshan was still an hour away from the park, so after grabbing some snacks, we loaded into the bus and took off.

Leshan's only claim to fame is the giant Buddha. Construction was started in 713 AD, it took over a decade to complete. It is over 500 meters in height, and the cliffs on either side are dotted with smaller Buddhas.

In order to reach the Buddha, we had to climb down a switchback trail. Along the way, we could see hundreds of Buddhas that had been carved along the way. Some were very intricate in design, others had weathered away to mere stumps. When we arrived at the bottom of the trail, we were able to see the full scale of the Buddha. It was HUGE, and worth the hike!













Later that afternoon, I met up with one of my classmates, a Korean whose job sent him to Chengdu for language training. He and his wife invited myself and another classmate to join them for lunch on Sunday. It should be fun. I seem to be really busy with these kinds of get-togethers. I always appreciate that people are willing to take us newbies in. On Friday I'll be having dinner at one of my neighbor's homes, and Sunday evening I will be cooking spaghetti for a Chinese family that has taken me in.