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At about 8AM you will be picked up from your Chengdu
hotel by your English-speaking guide and driver. From
there we will make the 2 hour drive to
Leshan Mountain,
where you will get to witness one of the most incredible
artistic achievements in history, the
Leshan Buddha.
The largest representation of the Buddha in the world,
the statue is of Maitreya (a Bodhisattva usually
represented as a very stout monk with a broad smile on
his face and with his naked breast and paunch exposed to
view) in sitting posture. The Buddha is located to the
east of Leshan City, Sichuan Province, at the confluence
of three rivers, namely, Min River, Qingyi River, and
Dadu River. The statue makes itself the most renowned
scenic spot in Leshan City. In December, 1996, the
location of the Buddha was included by UNESCO on the
list of the World Heritage sites. Begun in the year 713
in the Tang Dynasty, and finished in the year 803, the
statue took people more than 90 years to carve. During
these years, thousands of workers had expended their
efforts and wisdom on the project. As the biggest carved
stone Buddha in the world, Leshan Giant Buddha is
featured in poetry, song and story. Our visit to the
Leshan Buddha will be complete with a river cruise,
giving you a
glorious vantage point (and photo op!) of which to view
the Buddha.
We�ll spend about 2.5-3 hours sightseeing, and then
we�ll have a delicious lunch of Sichuan cuisine at a
local restaurant. Also known as Chuan cuisine, the
dishes of Sichuan Cuisine are famous for their spicy-hot
flavors, a spicy-hotness that Sichuaners call "dry hot",
insisting that it differs from the "wet hot" spiciness
of other cuisines. The difference, say, Sichuaners, is
that the spices used to achieve "dry hot" spiciness
consists of a mixture of dry ingredients such as crushed
peppercorns (black, red and white) and dried, crushed
chili, as well as Sichuan Province's own native pepper,
huajiao ("flower pepper" from the prickly ash tree,
Zanthoxylum bungeanum) that is of course first dried,
then crushed.
Following lunch you will be dropped off at your hotel by
5PM.
Included in tour price:
1. Hotel pick-up & drop-off service,
2. English-speaking tour guide.
3. Air-conditioned tour van or bus.
4. Entrance tickets to the attractions as listed in the
itinerary.
Not included in tour price:
1. All additional expenses not listed as included in the
itinerary.
2. Tips/gratuities to the guide and driver for a
well-done job.
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