There are 2 ways to get a better view of the Giant Buddha…. there’s the view from the boat for those willing to fork out RMB50… and there’s the view from the opposite bank for a mere RMB1.

Obviously, being the scrooge that we are, we chose the cheapest route available.

After looking at the Giant Buddha up close, we set off to get a better view. We got onto the local public bus No.13 from the Dafosi station. The bus fare cost only RMB1… plus you can slowly take in the local scenes from the leisurely ride.

Get down at the JinBeiYinZuo bus stop.  You find yourself in a street bustling with activities.

Across the bus stop, you should find a Cinema and a fast food outlet… KFC… (what else ) … KFC seems to have penetrated every corner of China

Continue walking down the street, cross a junction and you should come to a fortified river bank (did the Great Wall extend all the way to Leshan!?!?)

From here, you can take a boat ride to the opposite bank for RMB1. Or you could swim across… we saw some chinese swimming in the murky river… beware though! the river current is rather strong!!

On the boat with some Mongolians? Tibetans?

The opposite bank seems to be an “island” made up of sand and smooth rocks. One of the many activities to engage in on the island… kite flying.

Another favourite pastime of the locals… Mahjong. There are easily 30~40 busy tables on the island.

The rocks are kinda tricky to walk on… in the background you can see the Giant Buddha. To get a better view at the edge… walk on!!

Don’t be fooled and take the narrow and seemingly flat path…

In Sichuan, the taste of the food is spicy, very spicy or veryyyyyyyy spicy. Even the tofu puddling is spicy.

Someone swims across the river and lost her bra…

Now you got the view!

Popularity: unranked [?]

Leshan is about 1.5 hours drive by coach from Chengdu. It houses the Giant Buddha which is something rediculous like 71 meters tall, 1200 year old World’s Largest sitting ancient statue of the deity. It’s carved out of a hillside in 8th century and looks down on the confluence of 3 rivers in southwestern Sichuan province. Glad that this Unesco World Heritage site was undamaged by the nation’s strongest earthquake that hits Sichuan last year.

We bought our bus tickets from Chengdu tourist bus station, RMB 49 per head. The first bus starts at 7.30am. At the counter, we were asked if we wanted to go to Leshan town area or Leshan Giant Buddha. The trip to the town area cost RMB43.

So we bought our tickets to the Giant Buddha which turn out to be a 6-pax mini van. The van brought us to this side entrance that cost RMB150 for an entrance ticket, which include another scenic area – The Buddha Paradise, whilst the entrance fee for the Giant Buddha is only RMB70.

We read in the internet somewhere that some so called “public” bus will travel to the Giant Buddha scenic area from Leshan Tourist Bus Station. However, they will drop passengers off at the side entrance instead where the ticket prices of the Buddha Paradise and Giant Buddha is bundled together. It is probably a private arrangement to drive more visitors to the less known Buddha Paradise. Unwilling to fork out the extra RMB80 for the other scenic area, we took this tuk-tuk car up to the north entrance for RMB 10.

The tickets also functions as postcards. You can find a post box on the top of the hill, just behind the Buddha’s head.

I love how the imposed so many conditions just to justify describing them as the World’s Tallest, and World’s Largest.

I have to say, this wasn’t my first Giant Buddha experience.

Tian Tan Buddha, completed in 1993, was the World’s Largest (again) outdoor bronze seated Buddha statue on a lotus, whilst the
Lingshan Buddha, completed in 1996, is the World Tallest bronze standing Buddha statue weighing over 700 tons and 88 metres high.

The great masterpiece is carved out of a cliff that faces Mount Emei scenic area. There’s an old saying: “The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain“.

Another attractive place is the side of the Buddha’s head. You can go up there directly through a plank way along the cliff and appreciate the engraving art, by seeing his hair as worn in icing embedded with stones.

This statue is so old that even weeds grow inside it’s 7 meters long ears!

The precarious staircase zigged and zagged down the cliff, bringing the Giant Buddha into sights at different levels. The stairs were really small and slick!

The giant Buddha is not the only scenic area. From the entrance, walkways takes you along paths that bypass other Buddha carvings, statues, temples, cliff tombs and caves. There are loads of steps up and down high hills making the rounds in the parks a tiring affair.

We met some local tourists visiting the giant Buddha. Mostly senior citizens with a tour group, each one had a square coloured, numbered tag attached to their cloths.

It is a pity to see such graffiti at the Leshan Giant Buddha scenic site. The Giant Buddha have been around for more than a thousand years. We really ought to try our best to preserve these historic sites and let future generations appreciate them.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Almost everyone knows when you come to Chengdu, you see panda! But most people wouldn’t have a clue about the history of Chengdu. Chengdu was a place where bronze culture originated, a place where Southern Silk Road started and a place where the earliest paper currency was printed! Chengdu also lies in a center position where you can visit lots of interesting attractions in Sichuan like Jiuzaigou, Er-mei Mountain, etc.

On this trip, I’m in Chengdu to discover Leshan Giant Buddha. The photos above was taken from an apartment I stay in Chengdu. The day scene was taken from bedroom whilst the night scene was taken from the kitchen.

See you guys later!

Popularity: unranked [?]

The Chinese goverment spend a lot of effort to correctly translate the Chinese information on notice boards and road signs into English. This is to make sure that oversea tourist feel comfortable and are able to find their way around. It is anticipated that the number of tourists visiting China in 2008 will increase dramatically due to the Olympics being held in Bejing, the capital. While they may have done a decent job in Beijing and other olympic cities, it could be improve at Chengdu. Recently, on a trip to Chengdu, I visited the Panda Research Center again, a popular tourist attraction. The English information on the information boards and signs were, although not misleading, grammatically wrong. The Research Center is a must go place for tourist to Chengdu, why not change the signs as well!

“Caution, falling into water”

“To Pandas”

“Keeping Silence”

“Top One In The World”

And…. I promised my readers to post the Panda clip, here it is:

Popularity: 48% [?]

I’m attending the 2008 China International Food & Tourism Festival (CIFT) which started today in Wenshuyuan Street, Chengdu. CIFT is sponsored by China National Tourism Administration, China Council of International Trade and Chengdu Municiple People’s Goverment. The festival themed “Food of Sichuan”will last for a month and is the longest in history. Food from other 12 districts are joining the food testing activities too.

Chinese steam buns stuffed with hot soup and meat and/or vegetarian fillings

Chinese sausage and dried meat.

Bugs… insects… I beg you won’t eat this! You have probably seen this in Beijing or Thailand.

More photos…

People in Chengdu are more relax and enjoy life more than Shanghainese and Beijingers. I was surprised at how modern Chengdu was with its skyline. I love to sit at the balcony in the morning and watch those peoples on their bikes going to work.

Since the Sichuan earthquake 4 months ago, Chengdu came into attention once again, not because of the quake, but a series of exhibition, forums and festivals to showcase its new image to the world and to help recover its industries that were effected by the quake.

Popularity: unranked [?]

All the pandas were safe in Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base and were unaffected by the May 12th devastating earthquake. The research base, home to world’s biggest group of artificially-bred giant pandas, is the only place in the world where these cuddly bears can be seen in huge numbers.

There are about 20 pandas relocated here from Wolong center located in Wenchuan, the largest Panda breeding center. These bears are fed with fruits, and their favourite food, bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots are reduced from their daily menu because of food shortages and damage after the May 12th earthquake in the region. According to the zookeeper, Pandas are very picky about food and eat only fresh arrow bamboos. An adult giant panda used to excrete 10 kilograms of faeces per day, but it has now come down to 2-3kg because of scarce food. Artificial diets in the form of protein biscuits have been created for giant pandas as well.

United Nations Environment Programme – The role of honour for environmental archivement.

Main gate.

Admission fee is 30 yuan, and open to visitors from 7:30am to 6pm.

Captive panda cannot survive in the wild.

Panda in the cage with beds and lots of padding to keep them comfortable

The Pandas prefer to cool it off in the cage rather than sweat outside.

Lunch Time!!!

A chance to hug the young panda, while wearing sterile gloves, booties and gowns for panda’s safety. You can’t believe you’ve got to pay how much to hug the panda for few minutes. It used to be 500 yuan, but after the Sichuan earthquake, it’s 1000 yuan (around USD146). Part of the money will donate to charity.

Some signage in the center

Talk softly, or pandas will get annoyed

Tour Service Hotline: 86-28-83510033 or 83533816
Address: No.26, Panda Road, Northern Suburb, Chengdu Sichuan (610081).

Bus Routes to the Panda Base:

• Chengdu Xinnanmen Bus Station (Chengdu Tourism Distributing Center): Tour Bus Special Line No.902 direct to Panda Base;
• Take public bus No. 1, 45, 63, 69, 70, 71, 83, 82, 49 or 60 to Chengdu Qinglongchang Bus Station, then transfer to No.107 or No.532 to get the Panda Base;
• You can take a cab as well which will cost approximately 30 yuan.

Center map available here !

Popularity: 26% [?]

It has been 2 days since the 7.8 magnitute quake happened in Sichuan province. We were in Shanghai when we heard about the earthquake. My sister was working as an Expat in Chengdu, Sichuan, when it took place. We were extremely worried about her safety as we could not contact her after the quake occurred. All communication broke down and only partially recovered 2 hours later. She said the commercial building she was working in was shaking violently. Everyone was hiding under their desk. After the shaking stop, they immediately climb down the stairs out into the streets where it was safer. At night, she did not return to her apartment fearing aftershocks might cause the building to collapse. Most of the people were sleeping on the streets and in parks.

At the roadside…

Ground floor of office building…

Sleep inside the car…

This tragedy will be a real test of the chinese government’s ability, especially since the Olympics will take place 3 months later in the capital, Beijing. So far, we have been impressed by the government’s prompt response. On the first day, chinese premier, Mr Wen JiaBao flew to the hotzone of Sichuan to direct the rescue efforts himself. Unfortunately, rescue efforts have been slow due to the rain and landslides. It was very sad to hear that many children and students were trap in the debris as the schools collapse.

Despite all the despair and confusion, there have been instances where rescue efforts prevail over the testing conditions. A group of tourists were saved from cable cars left hanging 50 meters above ground due to the brave efforts of rescuers.

It is during times like this that the best of humanity is on display. The story of a nurse helping expecting mothers recover from the trauma is especially touching as her own child is still missing. The scene where the chinese premier harshly instructed the army to step up rescue efforts after visiting quake victims was equally touching as well. A volunteer chose to put aside his grief of losing his wife and son in the earthquake to help others in need.

Popularity: 24% [?]