Background

Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest carved stone Buddha of the world, is situated in the west cliff of Lingyun Mountain of Leshan, Sichuan Province. According to historical records, a notable monk named Haitong started its construction in 713 AD (the first year of the reign of Kaiyuan) of the Tang Dynasty. The work took 90 years.When it was new, the statue was covered with gold and colourful painting, with a thirteen-story pavilion to shield it. The pavilion was first called Giant Buddha Pavilion, then renamed Tianning Pavilion in the Song Dynasty, and eventually fell apart in the late Ming Dynasty. The Giant Buddha is located where the Minjiang, Qingyijiang and Daduhe rivers converge. Carved in the cliff, it is 71 metres high, its head reaching the top of the mountain and its feet resting on the riverside. Its instep is spacious enough for more than 100 people. In the viewers' eyes, the stately, imposing, magnificent statue is a mountain, and the mountain a statue of Buddha. In 1996, Leshan Giant Buddha, which has witnessed 1,200 years of vicissitudes, was included into the World Cultural Heritage List.

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