Atlas of China
Leshan 乐山Lèshān
A giant cliff Buddha, a sacred mountain and a town of snack lovers
About Leshan
Leshan sits where the Min, Dadu and Qingyi rivers meet, and from a red sandstone cliff above them the 71-metre Leshan Giant Buddha, carved in the Tang dynasty, gazes across the water. To the west rises Mount Emei, a sacred Buddhist mountain of forest trails and monasteries, and the two share a UNESCO World Heritage listing. Leshan is also known for its street food, and to the south the Jiayang Little Steam Train still runs through the old coal-mining hills of Qianwei.
What to eat in Leshan
- Qiaojiao beef (跷脚牛肉)
- Bobo chicken (钵钵鸡)
- Sweet-skinned duck (甜皮鸭)
Featured places in Leshan
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Leshan Giant Buddha 乐山大佛
A 71-metre Buddha carved from a riverside cliff where three rivers meet
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Mount Emei 峨眉山
A sacred Buddhist mountain of mist, monasteries and a golden summit above the clouds
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Jiayang Little Steam Train 嘉阳小火车
A coal-era steam train puffing through rapeseed fields to an old mining town
Listed sites in Leshan
19 sites in Leshan are on the official lists. Those with a page of their own link to it; the rest open as cards on the map.
- Dafo Chan Monastery, Emeishan 大佛禅院 4A scenic area · on the map
An active Buddhist monastery in Emeishan city, about 5 km east of Baoguo Temple at the foot of Mount Emei, run as a Buddhist cultural tourism area. - Heizhugou National Forest Park 黑竹沟 4A scenic area · on the map
A national forest park in the Xiaoliangshan mountains of Ebian Yi Autonomous County, whose scenic area covers about 575 square kilometres at altitudes from roughly 1,500 to 4,288 metres. - Jiajiang Thousand Buddha Cliff & Dongfeng Weir 千佛岩 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
A sandstone cliff on the bank of the Qingyi River just outside Jiajiang town, carved with some 270 Buddhist niches; most date from the Tang dynasty, with later additions into the Qing. - Jinkou Grand Canyon of the Dadu River 大渡河金口大峡谷 4A scenic area · on the map
A deep gorge of the Dadu River in mountainous Jinkouhe District, listed both as a 4A scenic area and as a National Water Conservancy Scenic Area. - Leshan Wumu Culture Museum 乌木文化博览苑 4A scenic area · on the map
A large museum in Suji town devoted to wumu, the dark timber formed when ancient trees were buried in old riverbeds by earthquakes, floods or landslides. - Luocheng Ancient Town 罗城古镇 4A scenic area · on the map
A market town in Qianwei county whose main street is wide in the middle and narrows at each end, giving it the outline of a boat; the street is traditionally dated to the late Ming dynasty. - Muchuan Bamboo Sea 沐川竹海 4A scenic area · on the map
Muchuan county in the hills of southern Leshan is thickly covered in bamboo, and this scenic area beside National Road 213 near Yongfu town showcases it. - Nongfu Spring Emeishan Factory Tour 农夫山泉峨眉山工业旅游区 4A scenic area · on the map
A working bottled-water plant of the Nongfu Spring company in Gaoqiao town, at the foot of Mount Emei, opened to visitors as an industrial tourism site. - Oriental Buddha Park 东方佛都 4A scenic area · on the map
A privately run theme park beside the Leshan Giant Buddha, filled with reproductions of Buddhist statues and carvings in stone and other materials. - Sichuan Tourism Expo Park, Emeishan 四川旅博天地 4A scenic area · on the map
A modern complex of about 87 hectares in the eastern new district of Emeishan city that combines exhibition, culture and tourism venues with city shopping. - World Jasmine Expo Park, Qianwei 世界茉莉博览园 4A scenic area · on the map
A jasmine-themed agricultural park in Qingxi town that opened in 2020, with a core area of about 87 hectares planted with more than 120 jasmine varieties. - China Nuclear Fusion Museum 中国核聚变博物馆 National heritage site · on the map
The former experiment hall of the Southwestern Institute of Physics, a Third Front nuclear research institute, where the HL-1 tokamak (China Circulator One) was completed in 1984; it is listed nationally as the site of China's first controlled nuclear fusion experimental device. - Feilai Hall, Emeishan 大庙飞来殿 National heritage site
A temple complex about 2 km north of Emeishan city whose main Feilai Hall, rebuilt in 1279 and repaired in 1298, is the largest surviving Yuan-dynasty timber building in Sichuan. - Lei Family Residence, Jingyan 雷氏民居 National heritage site · on the map
A large Qing manor built in 1773 for the family of Lei Chang, a Qianlong-era court official, on the edge of Qianfo town in Jingyan County. - Mahao Cliff Tombs 麻浩崖墓 National heritage site
A cemetery of rock-cut tombs dug into the sandstone of Lingyun Hill beside the Leshan Giant Buddha; a 1985 survey counted 330 tombs along more than 300 metres of cliff, most from the Eastern Han dynasty. - Qianwei Confucius Temple 犍为文庙 National heritage site
A Confucian temple in Yujin, the county town of Qianwei, founded in the Northern Song and rebuilt several times, with buildings mainly of the Ming and Qing; it is one of the largest Confucian temples in Sichuan. - Sanjiang White Pagoda 三江白塔 National heritage site · on the map
A Song-dynasty pagoda in Sanjiang town, Jingyan county, built of brick and timber on a square plan. - Wuyou Temple & Lidui 乌尤寺 National heritage site
A Buddhist monastery more than a thousand years old on the summit of Wuyou Hill, next to the Leshan Giant Buddha; it is the oldest temple in the area and one of China's officially designated key Buddhist temples. - Yanggong Que, Jiajiang 杨公阙 National heritage site · on the map
A pair of carved stone pillar-gates (que) in the countryside south-east of Jiajiang town, dated by the heritage authorities to between the Han and Song dynasties.
Getting to Leshan
Train, flight and driving times from the cities most visitors come from, with stations, fares and how many run a day; each opens the full comparison.
- Chengdu 成都 high-speed train 41 min, 59 a day, from ¥51
- Chengdu 成都 to Emeishan · high-speed train 1 h 5 min, 28 a day, from ¥63
- Kangding 康定 to Emeishan · no nonstop flight
- Kangding 康定 no nonstop flight
- Songpan 松潘 high-speed train 2 h 46 min, 2 a day, from ¥197
- Kunming 昆明 high-speed train 5 h 15 min, 4 a day, from ¥441
Trips with Leshan
- Two weeks in China: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin and Shanghai 14 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Leshan, Guilin and Shanghai
- Sichuan in a week: Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei and Dujiangyan 7 days · Chengdu, Leshan, Emeishan and Dujiangyan
On the map
Open Leshan on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.
Open Leshan on the map