Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, China
Somehow it's been almost a year since my China trip. It really doesn't feel like it was that long ago... Except when I try to speak Mandarin of course and realize how much it's been slipping away from my memory since I never ever use the language anymore. Then it feels like China was forever ago. It makes me sad! I joined a "Speak Mandarin" Meet-Up group last month which is full of people like me all trying to keep their Mandarin skills strong and get together with other speakers to practice, but I still haven't been to any of the meet-ups. I chicken out every time! But I know I need to just do it so I can practice and keep up with the language I worked so very hard to learn. Honestly, I just have serious wedding brain and it's taking up the majority of my headspace these days. I know that's a lame excuse...Anyway! I miss speaking Mandarin and I miss China sometimes, except for the heat and the cockroaches and the pollution and the giant meat slabs hanging from hooks in all the shop windows... But I do miss the people and learning about the history and being somewhere so unlike anywhere I've ever been before.I wanted to share photos from my trip to visit the Leshan Giant Buddha last summer. I didn't know anything about the Buddha before our visit, but I was pretty hyped on it once we rounded the corner in our boat and it came into view. The thing is HUGE.
Even though we had pretty views on the boat, most of us tried to hang out down below because it was air-conditioned. We kept getting yelled at to go back outside though, but being outside meant you had to keep your life jacket on, and keeping your life jacket on felt like torture. I try to explain the heat I experienced in China to people who haven't experienced it, but it's just not really something you can explain. It was such a different kind of heat. It's not like when you're standing in the sun and it's super bright and your skin gets hot from the rays. It's more like getting into a car that has been sitting in the sun for hours, except it's not that sunny outside and there's no relief when you roll the windows down. You step outside and you're immediately covered in sweat, even if you're not exerting any energy and the sun is nowhere to be seen. It's incredibly sticky and the air feels sour and after a while, you start to get a tickle in your throat and you think it's because you're getting a cold, but then you realize it's actually because of the air you're breathing. It's suffocating, uncomfortable, character-building type heat. And I lived in it for a month, with a broken AC unit in my room, and with bangs I tried my damnedest to style every morning even though I knew it'd be pointless after five or so minutes of walking around outside. I showed that heat who's boss! I pretended to be very okay outdoors even when Chinese people would say, "Your face is VERY red, are you okay?" Ah yes, good times.Anyway, more Buddha pics:
"The Leshan Giant Buddha is a 233 ft tall stone statue, built between 713 and 803 (during the Tang Dynasty), depicting Maitreya. It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones that lies at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below its feet. It is the largest and tallest stone Buddha statue in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. Construction was started in 713, led by a Chinese monk named Hai Tong. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels traveling down the river. When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity. After his death, however, the construction was stuck due to insufficient funding. About 70 years later, jiedushi Wei Gao decided to sponsor the project and the construction was completed by Hai Tong's disciples in 803. Apparently, the massive construction resulted in so much stone being removed from the cliff face and deposited into the river below that the currents were indeed altered by the statue, making the water safe for passing ships." (via Wiki)
"Quick! Let's take our lifejackets off and fix each other's hair and snap a pic before mean lady notices!" Don't we look so very cool and relaxed?
In all seriousness, even though China was hot hot hot, I don't regret a thing and I'm happy I was able to pack in so much sight-seeing while I was there. But if I ever do make it back, it will definitely be in the colder months. ;-) As always, thanks for reading! xo