Day 3: Chengdu - 7/25/17

Today, our main itinerary is Leshan Buddha, the tallest Buddha status in the world. More than 1,000 years ago, the Buddha was carved on the side of a mountain, over 90 meters tall! And it took over 90 years to complete this massive project.

Our tour guide told us that since this area is where 3 different rivers meet, the current was very unpredictable a thousand years ago, many fishermen died. So a monk proposed building a massive Buddha here to provide blessings. Once the Buddha was carved out from the mountain, and the amount of rocks dumped in the rivers actually did ease the current. Amazingly, the Buddha did save many lives!

We first saw the Buddha from a boat, soaked in its magnificent size from afar. Then we walked to the top of his head, and hiked the narrow path, along with hundreds of Chinese tourists, all the way down to its feet, and then all the way up to its head. Despite of the massive crowd, it was still a wonderful experience.

Afternoon, we visited the largest shopping mall by volume in the world! The brand new shopping mall is truly massive! There is a whole water park and ice Skating ring inside!Read more