Leshan Giant Buddha - Wikipedia Leshan Giant Buddha Leshan Giant Buddha UNESCO World Heritage site Leshan Giant Buddha Official name Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area Location Sichuan, People 's Republic of China Part of Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area Criteria Cultural and Natural : ( iv ) ( vi ) ( x ) Reference 779 Inscription 1996 ( 20th Session ) Coordinates 29 ° 32 ′ 41 '' N 103 ° 46 ′ 24 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 29.54472 ° N 103.77333 ° E ﻿ / 29.54472 ; 103.77333 Coordinates : 29 ° 32 ′ 41 '' N 103 ° 46 ′ 24 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 29.54472 ° N 103.77333 ° E ﻿ / 29.54472 ; 103.77333 Location of Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan. Leshan Giant Buddha ( China ) Show map of Sichuan Show map of China Show all The Leshan Giant Buddha ( simplified Chinese : 乐山 大佛 ; traditional Chinese : 樂山 大佛 ; pinyin : Lèshān Dàfó ) is a 71 - metre ( 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. The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Contents 1 History 2 Degradation 3 Dimensions 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Detailed close - up shot of the statue 's face 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. A sophisticated drainage system was incorporated into the Leshan Giant Buddha when it was built. It is still in working order. It includes drainage pipes carved into various places on the body, to carry away the water after the rains so as to reduce weathering. When the Giant Buddha was carved, a huge thirteen story wood structure ( similar to the one at the Rongxian Giant Buddha ) was built to shelter it from rain and sunshine. This structure was destroyed and sacked by the Mongols during the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. From then on, the stone statue was exposed to the elements. Degradation The Leshan Buddha has been affected by the pollution emanating from the unbridled development in the region. According to Xinhua news agency, the Leshan Giant Buddha and many Chinese natural and cultural heritage sites in the region have seen degradations from weathering, air pollution, and swarms of tourists. The government has promised restoration work. Dimensions At 71 metres ( 233 ft ) tall, the statue depicts a seated Maitreya Buddha with his hands resting on his knees. His shoulders are 28 metres wide and his smallest toenail is large enough to easily accommodate a seated person. There is a local saying : `` The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain ''. This is partially because the mountain range in which the Leshan Giant Buddha is located is thought to be shaped like a slumbering Buddha when seen from the river, with the Leshan Giant Buddha as its heart. Gallery The cliff to the left of the statue. The statue seen from ground level. The statue seen from above. The head seen from the staircase. path winding up to the statue Leshan Giant Buddha See also China portal Buddhism portal Buddhist art Chinese Buddhism List of statues by height Tang Dynasty List of colossal sculpture in situ References Jump up ^ http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-asia/leshan-giant-buddha-largest-stone-buddha-world-003398 Jump up ^ Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area. UNESCO World Heritage Site Jump up ^ Reuters, article Archived 2008 - 11 - 18 at the Wayback Machine. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leshan Giant Buddha. UNESCO Leshan Grand Buddha - Da Fo World Heritage Sites in China East Classical Gardens of Suzhou Fujian Tulou Lushan Huangshan Mount Sanqing Mount Tai Wuyi Mountains Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and Kong Family Mansion in Qufu Xidi, and Hongcun West Lake Kulangsu South Central Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains Historic Centre of Macau Shennongjia Kaiping Diaolou and Villages Longmen Grottoes Historic Monuments of Dengfeng, including the Shaolin Monastery and Gaocheng Observatory Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Wulingyuan Yinxu Southwest Chengjiang Fossil Site Dazu Rock Carvings Fanjingshan Honghe Hani Rice Terraces Huanglong Jiuzhaigou Lijiang Mount Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Potala Palace, including the Jokhang and Norbulingka Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries Three Parallel Rivers North Mount Wutai Chengde Mountain Resort, including Putuo Zongcheng Temple, Xumi Fushou Temple and Puning Temple Forbidden City Zhoukoudian Pingyao Summer Palace Temple of Heaven Xanadu Yungang Grottoes Northeast Koguryo sites Mukden Palace Northwest Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor Mogao Caves Xinjiang Tianshan Qinghai Hoh Xil Multiple regions Great Wall China Danxia Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties South China Karst Grand Canal Silk Roads Tusi Sites Colossal Buddhist statues Buddha Avukana Buddha statue Buddha Dordenma statue Buddha Park Buddhas of Bamiyan Buduruvagala Fo Guang Shan Buddha Gal Vihara Gifu Great Buddha Grand Buddha at Ling Shan Great Buddha of Thailand Hyderabad Buddha Kamagaya Great Buddha Kamakura Buddha Laykyun Sekkya Leshan Giant Buddha Maitreya Project Maligawila Buddha statue Mengshan Giant Buddha Rongxian Giant Buddha Sala Keoku Spring Temple Buddha Tian Tan Buddha Tōdai - ji Ushiku Daibutsu Guanyin Guanyin of Mount Xiqiao Guanyin of Nanshan Guishan Guanyin Hokkaido Kannon Sendai Daikannon Tsz Shan Monastery This Buddhism - related article is a stub. 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Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leshan_Giant_Buddha&oldid=846961382 '' Categories : Outdoor sculptures in China Colossal Buddha statues Mountain monuments and memorials World Heritage Sites in China Rock art in China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Sichuan Tang dynasty art 8th - century establishments in China Buddhism stubs Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Coordinates on Wikidata Articles containing simplified Chinese - language text Articles containing traditional Chinese - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015 All stub articles Talk Contents About Wikipedia Asturianu Беларуская Català Čeština Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto فارسی Français Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Basa Jawa Қазақша Lietuvių Magyar മലയാളം मराठी Bahasa Melayu မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Русский සිංහල Slovenčina Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 36 more Edit links This page was last edited on 21 June 2018, at 23 : 59 ( UTC ). 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Question: where is the largest buddha statue in the world located
Answer: at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan