Leshan Giant Buddha and Huanglongxi Ancient Town

Your guide and driver from Sichuan Adventure will pick you up at your hotel and head to Leshan, which is located about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Chengdu. During this 2.5 hour journey, you will see the beautiful countryside of Chengdu Plain with villages, tea plantations and fertile farmland. In some villages, the local people also grow grapes and lotus.

Leshan Giant Buddha was carved from the cliff at the confluence of three rivers. By standing close to the Buddha, you could feel the grandeur of this 71-meter-tall statue. From the year AD 713 to 803, the ancient Chinese spent 90 years building this huge project hoping that it would protect them from the floods in the summer.

You may either walk around the beautiful park where you can hike from the big head to the feet of the giant Buddha or take a boat to enjoy a whole view of the large statue on the river, as in front of the giant Buddha is the confluence of three rivers which meet here in Leshan before finally flowing into the Yangtze River.

Due to the limited time, there won’t be enough time for both hiking the Buddha and taking a cruise. Normally, the hike takes about 2-3 hours, and there is always a long queue, sometimes you have to wait for 1.5-2 hours to start your hiking. We recommend you to take a boat to get the whole view of this amazing statue.

Have lunch at a local popular restaurant.

Drive from Leshan to Huanglongxi Ancient Town. You can take a short rest during the 1 hour and 40 minutes’ drive.

With a history of more than 1,700 years, Huanglongxi Ancient Town is a good place to learn about the local people’s life on Chengdu Plain in the past, when the town was very prosperous along the ancient Silk Road, through which the silk and tea products from Chengdu Plain were transported to Myanmar, India, and Tibet.

There are still about 76 old houses in the town that were built in Ming (AD 1368-1644) and Qing (AD 1644-1911) Dynasties. The town itself has some authentic looking architecture, you can take a walk on the old streets to see the old houses, interesting souvenir shops, and some small temples. You may also wander along the river to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Then you can visit a local family house to have some tea and experience the making of Sichuan cuisine and have dinner with the family together. After that, your guide and driver will send you back to your hotel.