After leaving the panda center, we stopped in Leshan to view the Giant Buddha, which is the largest stone buddha in the world. It is 233 feet tall and nearly 90 feet wide. Construction began in 713 during the Tang Dynasty in order to look over and calm the turbulent waters of the divergent rivers alongside Leshan. It is said that many sailors perished here before its completion. Below you can see our guide getting serious about the story. PS...he was always serious.
Our group decided that we didn't want to hike to the foot of it for many reasons. We wouldn't have gotten good pictures, we were already hot and tired, and it would have limited our evening activities in Emei shan. So, we took a boat that idled right up next to it after a short cruise. This let us see the whole mountain and get some good shots of the Buddha too. The Chinese saying is that the mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain because the mountain as a whole looks like a sleeping Buddha and then there's this one carved in the middle of it. I couldn't get a good enough picture to share with you of that.
You can see how big it actually is here by looking at all the people at the foot of him. There are staircases and trails on either side, but it takes hours to hike there because they are all single file.
Here's another good one. It almost looks like he's smiling.
After a great lunch in Leshan, we headed to Chengdu for the night. This was honestly one of my favorite places in China. While everywhere else seemed fake; almost like they were putting on a show of how they wanted foreigners to "see" China, this place seemed more real. I felt a connection to the real people of China and, let's be honest, the sichuan food was just what I was craving! Check out this cute panda sighting!
This is a typical mode of transport in China. While this seems crazy, it's pretty tame compared to what I've seen in other countries of Southeast Asia.
This was the entrance to Wuhou Memorial Temple. It was built in 221 to memorialize the heroes during the Three Kingdoms periods and later to celebrate brotherhood of the Shu Emperor and his right hand man by housing their remains.
We headed out the gates and back into the chaos that is the real world of China. It's hard to see here, but there are at least 7 people and their luggage that will pack into this small cab. It reminded me of high school when all of us girls piled in cars to head out and about...not fun as an adult.
Here's another interesting sight on the way back to the hotel. What in the world?!
All the stores were really funny. They each sold like one thing and had a million of them stocked on the shelves. There was no Walmart one stop shopping here! Need a blender?
These were the thing to buy in Chengdu. There were thousands of them all over town. It was hard to choose which design to buy. They are supposed to be good luck, with the solid red ones as the luckiest of all.
Since this town had a strong Tibetan influence, there were many shops selling clothes like this. There were also many monks walking about. And, we got to eat at a Tibetan restaurant where I tried lots and lots of Yak...gamey, but yum-o!!!
It's funny that there were so many shops, each selling only a single type of item and there wasn't an overabundance of foot traffic, which could explain why this many was napping on his counter.
We woke up and headed to Emei shan. The plan was to hike up to a monastery at the top of the mountain for an overnight stay, but the group decided to nix that because of the torrential downpour the previous week and that was in the forecast for that evening. Our guide warned us that if it rained too heavily, we might be stuck up there until the paths were clear to descend. He did offer the option to stay in a local temple overnight, but many of us were super tired and super hot and sticky due to the record high temperatures that summer. We were nearly halfway through our trip and many of us just couldn't do it. There were 2-3 people who chose to stay in the temple...I didn't and now I regret it. Next time, I'm going to suck it up and stay!
We thought that this was a beautiful stone carving out of red rock...it was a beautiful carving, but it was completely constructed with paste and plywood next to the rock face. It was beautiful nonetheless.
Here I am touring the temple where I could have stayed. It was beautiful, but I was hot and cranky...100 degree temps plus humidity for almost 2 weeks does that to me!
Here's a common sight at temples worldwide. This one didn't have too many candles lit, but it was better that way. It was really peaceful, and after the huge amounts of people, I was ready for some respite.
Another common sight (and smell) is incense at temples. People buy them by the bunch outside the gates and inside, only to bring them in and light them. My senses tend to be overwhelmed at temples with the beauty and solitude in addition to the bells tolling, incense burning, and chanting of the monks.
Here's a local lighting her own.
Here are tons and tons of prayer boards...I collect these in Japan, but didn't realize that I could get them elsewhere. I did try, but unfortunately they didn't have any left to purchase. Darn!
Here is a common sight...locals praying.
This was a prayer room filled with Buddhas around the walls and prayer pillows covering the floors. I wish I could have witnessed the prayers. I bet it was magical!
Another great part of touring temples is the crazy artwork. There are always interesting and unique carvings to be found. This one caught my eye in Emei shan.
Here is another great example of "Lost in Translation." Frankly, my oppositional personality makes me want to dislike the heritage of the world...not really, but it's still funny.
Make sure you follow the rules carefully!
I had ran into the same Chinese family time and time again throughout the day. This cute girl finally asked me to get a picture with her. I think her and her brother just wanted to practice English...that and they hadn't run into many white folk. Either way, I was happy to take a picture with her.
Another panda sighting!!!
The next day, we climbed/hiked to the summit of Mt. Emei; one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China and is thought of as the place of enlightenment. At the top was this beautiful Samantabhadra. He is associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. It is said that he teaches his students that wisdom only exists for the sake of putting it into practice and that it is good only insofar as it benefits all living beings.
The detail in the statues here was amazing. This elephant was at the base of the staircase.
Once I climbed to the top, I realized just how beautiful the statue actually was up close.
Here's an interesting shot.
And another close up.
It was great to witness the locals offering prayers at the base of the figure.
On the way up, we were warned of the local monkeys...on the way down, we actually saw them. After being warned of the many injuries and attacks, I had no desire to stick around to get a closer look.
Here's one photo, and I'm not going to lie. Mark took it as I was high-tailing it to the bottom of the mountain. Did I want my face ripped of by this beast...no thank you!!!
The hike was a difficult but beautiful one. Here was a view along the way.
Here's another one.
Gosh, it was peaceful and beautiful!!!
After hiking back down one side of Mt. Emei, we headed to the other side for a different view. It too was beautiful.
Just another part of our hike.
It was super hot and sticky, but the beautiful scenery made it worthwhile.
While some of the group wanted to climb up to the monkey park, the rest of us had already had our share of monkeys. So, we stayed below and did some wading with the locals. It was really fun to sit and watch the families beat the heat in the crystal clear water.
After a really long day of hiking, we relaxed in a hot spring resort. There were tons of different pools. This one was full of wine. I was worried that I might turn red in this one...thank goodness I didn't.
Here are some other pools...ginko, aloe, and another one that I don't remember. The hottest ones were the best...I didn't care what was in them, I just loved the heat.
Here are some of the normal ones that were just hot springs. They smelled pretty awful, but felt fantastic! My only complaint...my beautiful silver necklace turned black. Anyone know how to reverse it?
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