A Very Big Buddha

Leshan's highlight is the biggest buddha in the world called Dafo at 234 feet, which took 90 years to complete to tame the Dadu River and is 1,400 years old. The site is quite amazing with not only the buddha but with various other temples built into the cliff sides and a beautifully preserved hanging bridge.

A good size comparison is that the buddha's nails are bigger than the average human and his ears stretch for 23 feet. Walking to the Wuyou Temple on the same grounds are 1,000 terracotta arhats (buddhist celestial beings) similar to angels. The interesting part is that they all have unique body postures and facial expressions along with different clothing and items in their hands.

After getting our fill of buddhas, we needed a lazy day to pretty much do nothing, so what better day than a Sunday to spend with our Chinese counterparts. We strolled around parks with caged hanging birds for the amusement of the men playing cards, sipping tea, crunching on sun flower seeds, and engaging in voiceferous conversations. One thing we have noticed that the Chinese are big eaters and will order a feast of many various dishes at any given time of the day. Us on the other hand, must look completely pathetic with our one main dish, so today we decided to do it up. At a local joint, I got some duck stew, rice, boiled corn, salad, along with some greens. It was delicious made better by the help of the locals who provided guidance on what to order.