Home of the world's largest stone Buddha — 71 metres of Tang Dynasty devotion carved into a cliff
Leshan is a city at the confluence of three rivers in Sichuan province, unremarkable except for one extraordinary monument: the Leshan Giant Buddha, carved directly into the red sandstone cliff face between 713 and 803 CE. At 71 metres tall, it is the largest stone Buddha in the world — so large that its shoulders serve as viewing platforms. The Buddha was carved to calm the turbulent waters at the river confluence and protect passing boatmen; the rubble from the carving actually altered the riverbed currents, fulfilling the intent. UNESCO inscribed it in 1996 alongside the nearby Mount Emei.
Construction of the Leshan Giant Buddha began in 713 CE, commissioned by a Tang Dynasty monk named Haitong who wished to calm the dangerous confluence of the Min, Dadu, and Qingyi rivers that was killing boatmen. The project took 90 years and three generations of craftsmen to complete. Legend holds that Haitong gouged out his own eyes to demonstrate purity of purpose when corrupt officials demanded money from the construction fund. The Buddha's drainage channels, carved into robes and hair, have helped preserve the statue through 1,300 years of weathering, though pollution and moisture have a…