Le Shan

Le Shan is 30km east of Emei Shan and around 150 km from Chengdu city. The city's relaxed atmosphere is just the right prescription for sore muscles after some tough hiking. The giant attraction of the city is the world's largest Buddha statue. It's 71m high and you'll feel infinitely small just compared with one of the Buddha's toenails. The statue is carved out from the rocks at the confluence of the Dadu, Minjiang and Qingyi Rivers. Legend has it the swift currents created by the clash of these rivers sunk innumerable ships and drowned their passengers. In AD 713 the monk Haitong began building the Buddha in the hope this would prevent further disasters. Construction finished 90 years later and the waste rocks from the carving succeeded in calming the waters.

The sight of the Buddha is amazing, his head is 15m high, the nose is 6m long and the index fingers are 8m long. The best views of the Buddha are onboard a boat on the river or from the hills that flank its head. Admission to the Buddha is RMB 40 and opening hours are from 8am to 6pm.

The Dongfang Fodu Museum specializes in copying some of China's most famous Buddhist sites in large size –some even bigger than the original. Here is the world's largest reclining Buddha with a length of 173m. There is also a section of foreign Buddha from places including Japan, Nepal and India.

The Mahao Museum offers a glimpse of life during the Han dynasty. These cave tombs were dug high into the cliff over 2,000 years ago and are valuable for their insights into Han society, architecture, religion and politics. The tombs were furnished as typical Han dynasty dwellings for the spirit of the deceased to use in the afterlife and a treasure of relics have survived to this day.