Emei Mountain lies seven kilometers southwest of Emeishan City and is one of the four mountain ranges in China that Buddhists consider sacred. It was included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1996. The mountain stretches more than 200 kilometers from south to north. Its main peak, Wanfo Top, is 3,099 meters above sea level. Since ancient times Emei Mountain has been described as "Beauty Under Heaven". Temples were built as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25——220) and Buddhism was introduced to the mountain during the Jin Dynasty. In the Ming and Qing dynasties there were more than 150 temples.
A legend claims that the mountain was where Samantabhadra gave lectures on Buddhism and most temples house a statue of Samantabhadra. The main scenic spots on the mountain include the Baoguo Temple, Wannian Temple, Fohu temple, Qingyin Pavilion, Heilongjiang Tunnel, Hongchun Platform, Xianfeng Temple (Jiulao Cave), Xixiang Pond and Golden Summit. These places are at different altitudes and have different climates. Temperatures at the top of mountain are 15 degrees lower than at the foot. Emei Mountain is a well-known natural museum with more than 3,000 specimens of plants and 2,000 types of animals including groups of monkeys that appear on the mountain roads and fascinate the tourists.
Baoguo Temple sits at the foot of the mountain at the entrance and exit of the mountain area. The temple was built during the reign of Ming Emperor Wanli(1573——1620). About 15 kilometers from the Baoguo Temple is Wannian Temple, one of the main temples in the mountain area. Wannian Temple, or the Temple of Samantabhadra as it was known before the Ming Dynasty, was built during the reign of Emperor Long’an of the Eastern Jin dynasty (397——401). It has no beams and houses a bronze statue of Buddha Samantabhadra mounted on a six-toothed white elephant cast in 1980, the fifth year of the Northern Song Dynasty. The statue is 7.3 meters high and weighs 62 tons. Xianfeng Temple is situated a the foot of the Jiulao Peak and the old halls were built with tin sheets and iron tiles. The intact halls were rebuilt in 1779. Fohu Temple is located one kilometer west of Baoguo Temple and at the foot of Fohu Hill. It is one of the largest temple in the mountain area. Rebuilt in 1651, it covers an area of 13,000 square meters and is accessible from the highway. At the Golden Summit, the pinnacle of the mountain area 3,065 meters above sea level, is Puguang Hall of Temple. It was constructed during the Eastern Han Dynasty and has been rebuilt several times after being struck by lightning. The Golden Summit is an ideal place to view the sunrise, the sea of clouds, the "Buddhist lights" and "Sacred lamps".
The Giant Buddha on the east bank of Mingjiang River in Leshan City, Sichuan Province, rests his feet where three rivers——the Minjiang, Qingyi and Dadu——join. The Buddha faces Emei Mountain across the river and at its back is the western slope of Lingyun Mountain. Standing at 70.7 meters with shoulders 24 meters wide it is an impressive sight. A water drainage system reduces erosion by rain and slows weathering.
The statue was begun in 713 and completed in 803. To the right of the statue a plank road with nine turns was built and it is now famous as the nine-turn plank road; it goes from the bottom to the top.
The city of Leshan is less than one hours ride from the Baoguosi Monastery at the foot of Mt. Emei.Leshan is the home of the Giant Buddha at the conflueence of the Min,Dadu and Qingyi rivers.It qualifies as the largest Buddha in a sitting posture in the world .You must board a riverboat for the best view of the Giant Buddha.The massive Buddha was carved out of a cliff face more than a thousand years ago, but now it is still well preserved in good shape, with his full and serene face.
The Buddha is the largest Buddha in China,towering to 71m,with his 14.7m head,and 24m shoulders.The Buddhas ears are 6.72m long, insteps 8.5m broad, and a picnic could be conducted on the nail of his big toe, which is 1.5m long.
This carving project was begun in 713.Each summer at that time the Min,Dadu and Qingyi rivers flowed down.As the ghree rivers met,turbu-lent waves strucd each other hard,boats capsized and boatmen vanished.There was a Buddhist monkby the name of Haitong in Lingyun Hill,who saw the situation and was determined to carve a giant Buddha out of the cliff face, hoping that the Buddhas presence would subdue the swift currents and protect the boatmen .Haitong started travelling along the Changjiang river and other areas in China to collect funds for the gigantic carving. Once an evil official attempted to obtain by force the money collected by Haitong.The monk refused him in strong terms.He said,d rather gouge out my eyes than give a penny to you,The official shouted in anger,gouge your eye out now!Haitong resolutely dug out one of his eyes.
The monks behavior in protecting the funding so greatly encouraged sculptors and other construction workers that the carving work went on smoothly. Unfortunately Haitong died before the completion of his lifes work .However, this work continued due to the support of the local people as well as Weigao and Zhangchou Jianqing,the local top military commanders. The word took up 90 years until 803 when it was completed.Since then the Buddha has watched over the river traffic for more than a thousand years to offset the large number of serious accidents in the river. Modern Chinese question whether safer boat gravel is due to his presence or to sime later-day dredging.
As you get close to the Buddha,we can find out some scattered holes im rows around the Buddha.They are remains of so Called the Giant Buddha Pavilion . It was a nine-storied building set up during the Tang Dynasty to shelter the Buddha.It was renamed as the Lingyun Pavilion with 13 stories during the Song Dynasty. Unfortunately it was destroyed by a war during the Ming Dynasty. Since then the Buddha remains outside in the open space.
The Giant Buddha has lasted over a thousand years, and still survives in good shape.Why? First of all, according to the studies on the ancient construction of the Buddha,the cliff face the Buddha occupies enjoys topographical advantages. It is on the southern side of the hill,where verdant trees grow so well as to protect rocks and slope from erosion.Secondly although the Buddha seats bordering on the confluence of the three rivers, the immense statue is carved into the cliff face inside the hill,which alleviate the severe damage by wind and water erosion.Finally there is a water-drainage system,hidden from view.The system starts with 1021 fastened hairs, which conect one another at the bace of the bead .The end of the hairs inter-links the shoulders,joining the simple-patterned robe pleats carved on the body.The hairs,shoulders and pleats naturally reveal a complete system that carries away the entire surface water on the body, where the water disappears underground.
It is worth making several passes at the Buddha.From the ferry pier on the island,you climba steep road and through Lingyun Temple to a vantage point for viewing the buddha.You can go to the top,opposite the head, and then descend a short zigzag stairway carved into the cliff to the feet for the top,oppoosite the head,and then descend a short zigzag stairway carved into the cliff to the feet for the different perspective viwepoints.A local boat passes by for a frontal view, which reveals two guardians in the cliff side, not visible from land,Wuyou Buddhist Monastery can be reached in 15 minutes by footpath from the Buddha,which is also from the Tang Dynasty with Ming and Qing renovations,Its layout is very similar to the other monasteries as we mentioned before.Walking along up Wuyou Hill,you can enjoy the quiet and beartiful scenery, The top of Wuyou Hill affords you a vision of an emerald-green tree forest, glazed golden tiles of the monastery roofs and the distant rivers.