Photography by Mark Carnaby

Dragon fountain sculpture, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Close up of the Giant Buddha Torii, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Ferry port where I caught my boat to see Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
View from one of the ferries I was on heading out to see Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Ferries arriving at the foot of Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Wooden path clings to the sandstone face of Lingyun Hill, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
One of the guardian figures that flank the Big Buddha (Dafo), Leshan, Chengdu
The Big Buddha in all his glory, 230ft in height and took 90 years to finish construction in 803 AD, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Lots of steps to climb up to the top of Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Statue and temple in the hills of Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
The Big Buddha known as Dafo in Leshan, Chengdu
Close up of the Big Buddhas head, his nose measures 18ft long, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Pagoda at the top of Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
About to descend the steep Nine Turns staircase to the foot of Big Buddha, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Information board on the largest stone Buddha in the world, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Descending carefully down the Nine Turns Staircase, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Deities meticulously carved into the sandstone face of the Nine Turns Staircase, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
View of the sandstone Nine Turns staircase to the foot of Big Buddha about 71 metres in height, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
See the toes of Big Buddha in this photo to get a sense of scale here, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Pray cushions set out at the foot of the Big Buddha, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Jiazhou Huayuan temple and museum of Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Chinese man offering incense sticks at the Jiazhou Huayuan temple, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Temple on Lingyun Hill, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
Chairman Mao sculpture in a temple at Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu
View of Leshan from Dafo, Chengdu
View of a ferry and Leshan from the sandstone cliff face, Dafo, Leshan, Chengdu

China 2014 Revisited: Part Five of Nine

China Extras – Part Five: Leshan Giant Buddha (Dafo)

Liked the photos?

The Leshan Giant Buddha (Dafo) is a 71-metre (233 ft) tall stone statue, built during the Tang Dynasty, depicting Maitreya.  It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan.

This set contains photos I took of the Leshan Giant Buddha (Dafo) in China.

A quick introduction: In October 2014 after months of planning a dream came true, I managed to travel solo throughout the great and mystical land of China! 25 days, 9 cities; Shanghai, Beijing, Pingyao, Xi’an, Jiuzhaigou, Chengdu, Yangshou, Hong Kong & Macau, 6 flights, 3 trains, 2 coaches covering 15, 322 miles in all.

Originally I went through the 4500+ photos I took and picked out my favourites at the time, you can start that journey here and they are what I would call my “proper” portfolio photos for this trip, then later on I revisited all the photos again and found I had a lot more of the story to tell and even those these are what I call my offcuts I feel they are good enough photos to show on here and I spent some time creating new sets 1 to 3, now I have added to those offcut sets furthering the collection from 1 to 8 sets with an extra five new sets of China goodness you see here ~ enjoy!