We met up with our other traveling companions at the van at 9 am. Our group consisted of an Israeli couple who were backpacking around China; a Japanese man who worked in Shanghai and was taking his National Week holiday in Chengdu; and a Turkish fellow who had lived in NYC and was doing a round-the-world trip, having already completed Africa and Europe. We all chatted companionably, although I failed to get anyone’s name.
The drive to Leshan took about two hours. It was October 1, National Day, so the streets were filled with extra cars from vacationing travelers and the televisions were broadcasting the endless parade from Beijing. You could tell that the entire country was involved in celebrating, as places everywhere had decked out in red lanterns, banners, Chinese flags, new plants, and often even fresh painting. When we arrived at Leshan, you could also tell that the Chinese were out on holiday in force. Our driver dropped us off near the entrance, announcing to the Japanese fellow (the only one of us who could understand Chinese) that we were to meet back at the van at 3 pm.
We all started off toward the ticket line, drifting apart at various points. As you entered , you could not see the Buddha at all, until you paid your entrance fee and then walked a short distance slightly uphill. Eventually, we came to the top of the cliff area and I realized we were standing at the Buddha’s head. For some reason, I thought we would start at his feet and then climb up, but we were doing the opposite.
The line for walking the steps next to the Buddha was long. We met up with the Japanese man and the Turkish guy, who seemed to be traveling together. The Turkish guy was griping because he couldn’t stand the crowd. I teased him and said, “Aren’t you going to India next? It’s going to be much worse than this!”
Eventually, we began the descent, a zigzagging route of steps next to Buddha. The crowd was thick so that we could only go a few steps at a time. The Buddha was so large that you couldn’t really get him all in the same picture, so I have photos of his head or his feet. The Chinese also like to take pictures of themselves in front of every site possible, and as a culture, they are incredibly pushy--and I don’t mean verbally (although they are that too)--but the Chinese are physically pushy, and they will force themselves into any tiny spot, effectively pushing you out of it. You cannot be patient, thinking that you will eventually get a chance--there are just too many people. So, if you intend to see a site, you will have to adapt and push back. The trick is that the Chinese don’t shove, it’s just a strong steady full-body pressure. No one gets mad if you do it; it’s just expected. It also helps to put on your game face and look like you aren’t going to be intimidated. That deters some Chinese who would take advantage of your proclivity to wait your turn. Oddly, the Chinese have adapted to lines in some places--the airport and McDonald’s come to mind--but often it’s just a scrum of people and many times, there will be a line, but people will just butt in.
Meanwhile, as we slowly descended the Buddha, Kinsey told me she wasn’t feeling particularly well. I hoped she wouldn’t faint or throw up as we couldn’t get out of line, so we gamely made our way through, although by the time we made it to the bottom, her only thought was to get a drink, so we didn’t pause for very long. I had thought we would exit pretty quickly, but learned that we had to climb back up the other side of the Buddha in order to exit. Poor Kinsey had to take the climb slowly until we finally reached a rest area with some concession stands. After a drink, I think she felt much better and we were able to continue.
The other part of the Big Buddha experience was to take a boat on the river in order to see the entire sculpture from a better angle. However, as we were wandering around the Grand Buddha Park, I couldn’t see anything that seemed like a dock. I watched the boats and it seemed like they were not stopping anywhere nearby, so we left the park. After numerous missteps (we always seem to walk in the wrong direction), someone at an information table was finally able to direct us to the boats. We walked another 500 meters down the bank and found the dock. The ride was nice and it was fun to see the Buddha from the river, as you were able to see the stairs carved into the sandstone cliffs.
However, the main function of the boat is to allow the Chinese tourists yet another opportunity for everyone to get their picture taken in front of the Buddha, as we hovered in front of the Buddha for probably 10 minutes, vying with several other boats. A professional photographer with the boat made sure everyone who wanted a photo managed to get one. There was nothing else of interest in the boat ride--luckily the day was nice for just a fresh breeze on the water.
Back on land, we managed to get back to the van just before 3 pm, although we hadn’t had time to eat lunch. The Israeli couple was there, although the van was gone and the other two travelers hadn’t shown up. We talked and waited, until finally the Turkish and Japanese guys arrived, panting from having run. Mysteriously, the van driver arrived just seconds later, and waved us over to the van, which was parked in a back alley.
The drive home was uneventful. Almost everyone napped in the late afternoon heat, only to awaken to traffic jams in Chengdu. We debated the merits of visiting the Big Buddha with the consensus being that it had been somewhat overblown as a destination…although of course, once you’ve been to a few temples in Asia, you do get some Buddha overload. I thought it was nice and I don’t mind that we went, but lately I’ve been learning that streamlining your itinerary might be a better way to go.
Later that night, we went up to the roof of the hostel to watch Chinese fireworks. I was disappointed that our view was not as good as I had been led to believe. Otherwise, I might have tried to get to the actual site. Chengdu was having fireworks from six sites around the city, and we were able to see parts of two. I would have liked to have seen Beijing’s, but I do have to say, New York’s Fourth of July fireworks are a lot more impressive than Chengdu’s.
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