2 Days Private Chengdu Tour to Leshan & Mt. Emei

It’s just incredible that a small city like Leshan can boast as many as three world heritage sites, namely Leshan Giant Buddha, Mt. Emei, and Dongfeng Weir. But you will find why from its fascinating yet low-key location, known for its pristine mountains and rivers. In the morning, your tour will officially start after your tour guide and driver pick you up from your hotel. Go on a comfortable ride to Leshan. Upon arrival, a cruise trip to enjoy the best view of Leshan Giant Buddha will be arranged for you, which is the highlight of your itinerary. Carved out of a red sandstone hillside, the Buddha has been guarding for 1,300 years the ships sailing by underneath, which now include ours.

● Secrets of the giant Buddha that add spices to your tour
A careful look may let you spot a white area at the heart of the Buddha. It actually opens to a hidden room storing treasures, five types of cereals, holy relics, and sutras, which are commonly found in Buddhas and required to bring them “alive”. Another secret is about the three caves on the shoulder, behind ears, and on the back, the former two of which are actually connected to form a draining system to handle water seepage from the hill.

After that, let’s transfer to the Mt. Emei, one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Upon arrival, we will first visit the Baoguo Temple, the Buddhist activity center here, sitting at the entrance to the piedmont plain of the Mt. Emei. If you take interest in ancient Chinese buildings, examine the Mahavira Hall inside, one of the best preserved wooden buildings on the southern bank of the Yangtze River. For those loving ancient relics, visit the room housing ceramics, jades, literature, paintings, metal ware, and unearthed weapons of the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC), which are definitively worth your time!

Out of the Baoguo Temple, your guide will lead you to your hotel and help you with the check-in procedure.

Accommodation: Building No. 5 of Hongzhushan Hotel (Mountain-view Room)

After breakfast, we will take the sightseeing bus to Leidongping station first. Then continue with a hike (1.5 kilometers or 0.9 miles, 30 to 40 minutes) including climbing of some steps to Jieyin Temple, where a Jinding Cable Car will take you up to the Golden Summit of the Mt. Emei. At 3,077-meter-high (10,095-feet-high), it’s the highest peak of the mountain range atop which clusters of temples and attractions can be found. On arriving at its top, go on another 10 minutes’ walk to the Huazang Temple perched at the center. It’s famous not only for being the highest temple in China, but also for a gigantic golden statue of ten-faced Bodhisattva Samantabhadran sitting in front of it. Shrouded in mist all year round, the entire landscape has a supernatural feel rare and intense.

Your 2 days Chengdu tour to Leshan and Mt. Emei will come to an end after visiting the Golden Summit. We will go down the same way we came up, and drive back to your hotel in downtown Chengdu.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

► Friendly Tips:
Today’s lunch will be a simple one because of the limited conditions in the mountain area, so you might prepare some snacks in advance to enrich your noontime.

As we will reach an altitude as high as the Golden Summit, please make sure your physical conditions allow you to stand the environment beforehand. If you decide to travel between November and March, when Mt. Emei is covered with snow, it is also recommended you prepare a pair of antiskid shoes and warm clothes to deal with some icy mountain roads and cold weather.