Viaggi di Leshan e Eemeishan As the globe’s largest Buddhist stone sculpture, the Grand Buddha is 71 meters high, carved into a cliff face overlooking the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers. The Buddha's ears are 7 meters long, insteps 8.5 meters broad, and a picnic could be conducted on the nail of his big toe, which is 1.5 meters long-the toe itself is 8.5 meters long. One of the Middle Kingdom's four famous Buddhist mountains (the others are Putuo, Wutai and Jiuhua), Mt. Emei has little of its original temple-work left. With all the other tourists, pilgrims and hawkers lining the pathways, there's not much chance for solitude on Mt. Emei. But for all that, the hike offers its share of beautiful views. Fir trees, pines and cedars clothe the slopes; lofty crags, cloud-kissing precipices, butterflies and azaleas together form a nature reserve of sorts. In 1997, Mount Emei and the Leshan Buddha were endorsed as a world natural and cultural heritage site. |