Oriental Buddha Park - More giant Buddha statues in Leshan

 


The Oriental Buddha Park (also called Oriental Buddhist Park and Eastern Buddhist Capital) is a large cultural and religious-themed complex above and under ground, featuring thousands of Buddhist statues, including some monumental creations. Unlike the nearby ancient Leshan Giant Buddha and Mahao Cliff Tombs, the Oriental Buddha Park is a new site built during the late 20th and early 21st century. The statues were crafted using traditional stone carving techniques combined with modern engineering, allowing the creation of impressively massive figures while maintaining the style and spirit of classical Buddhist art. The park’s highlights include a 51-meter-tall standing Buddha representing the Medicine Buddha (also called Pharmacist Buddha and Bhaisajyaguru), a 33-meter-tall seated Buddha, and a 170-meter-long reclining Buddha. While the site does not contain original ancient artifacts, the craftsmanship, scale, and atmosphere make it very much worth visiting. 

The Oriental Buddha Park can be visited before or after the Leshan Giant Buddha. The two sites stand next to each other and, apart from walking from one to the other, both locations can be reached by the free shuttle bus service. A seperate ticket is needed for the Oriental Buddha Park, which, like the Giant Buddha entry, costs CNY 80. Count a few hours on visiting it as it's a quite large site. 


1. West Gate (to/from Leshan Giant Buddha); 2. Avalokitesvara and Thousand Hands Cave; 3. Randeng Buddha; 4. Elegant Avalokitesvara; 5. Hall of Golden Buddha; 6. Head of the 51-meter Pharmacist Buddha; 7. Entrance/exit of the Underground Palace and the 51-meter Pharmacist Buddha; 8. The 33-meter sitting Buddha; 9. Entrance/exit of the Underground Palace (Four Heavenly Kings Hall); 10. The Eighteen Arhats Hole and Longmen Giant Buddhas; 11. Bridge near East Gate, full view of reclining Buddha; 12. South and Southeast Asian statues; 13. Big Buddha Bay; 14. South Gate (to/from Mahao Cliff Tombs, Haoshang Bridge, and Wuyou Temple). (Based on map of on-site information board.)

In this post we start at the West Gate of the Oriental Buddha Park, right at the south exit of the Giant Buddha area. The photos follow the order of my walk, and the map was also numbered accordingly. However, in order to get to the South Gate (#14) from the Big Buddha Bay (#13), I had to climb over the hill again. Looking back on the walk, there is a better route from #1 to #14. After reaching the end of the cave at #4, return to #3 then descend to #13, and from here do the walk in reverse, skipping #5 at the end. 

The West Gate of the Oriental Buddha Park, connected to the Leshan Giant Buddha site.




Small carved caves - they are probably original. 






Fork in the road. To the right is the Pharmacist Buddha (#7), to the left, as we go, the Avalokitesvara and Thousand Hands Cave (#3). 



The Avalokitesvara and Thousand Hands Cave. 











Randeng Buddha. 









The view down on Big Buddha Bay (#13). 


Elegant Avalokitesvara. 














Way up to the Hall of Golden Buddha. 


The Hall of Golden Buddha sits atop the hill, but you only get a little view. 








Way down to the Pharmacist Buddha. 


The view of the 51-meter Pharmacist Buddha from above. 














Entrance (exit) of the cave where the Pharmacist Buddha statue stands. 



The 51-meter Pharmacist Buddha and the Underground Palace. 







































The 33-meter sitting Buddha. 











The Four Heavenly Kings Hall in the Underground Palace. 























The exit (entrance) of the Underground Palace. It is located next to a shorter cave, the Eighteen Arhats Hole, which has several entrances. The 170-meter-long reclining Buddha statue is located above these cave entrances. You can't see the whole statue from here, only a part of it. 

























Longmen Giant Buddhas. 







Bridge near the East Gate of the Oriental Buddha Park (free shuttle bus stops here) from where you can get the full view of the reclining Buddha. 






South and Southeast Asian statues. 








Big Buddha Bay. 





















South Gate, the way to the Mahao Cliff Tombs, Haoshang Bridge, Wuyou Temple, and cruise port. 


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