Leshan Giant Buddha, a day from Chengdu

Leshan Giant Buddha tickets and prices

The day ticket for the hill costs ¥80 (concession ¥40). It covers the Buddha's head, the walk down to his feet, Lingyun and Wuyou temples and the Mahao cliff tombs. Children under 1.2 m go free. Guides disagree on exactly who qualifies for the concession, so bring your passport and any student card.

The river boat is a separate ¥70 ticket: about 30 minutes on the water, pausing in front of the statue. It doesn't land, and it doesn't include park entry. The park shuttle costs ¥10 a ride or ¥15 for the day.

Tickets are sold in the Chinese-only “大佛旅游” mini-program in WeChat and Alipay, on Trip.com (English, foreign cards accepted) and at the visitor-centre counters. Most payments in China go through Alipay or WeChat Pay with a linked foreign Visa or Mastercard; carry some cash yuan as a backup.

Leshan Giant Buddha opening hours

The park is open every day. From 1 April to 7 October it runs 7:30–18:30; from 8 October to 31 March, 8:00–17:30. Ticket sales and entry stop before closing time, so plan to be inside by mid-afternoon. Boats run through the day, leaving every half hour or when full, and can be suspended in low water or bad weather.

On national holidays — May Day, the first week of October and Chinese New Year — entry works by timed slots and tickets sell out, so book ahead or pick another date.

Boat or the cliff walk?

Prices and times are unofficial, cross-checked between guides. If you have the energy, do both: the hill in the morning, the boat after lunch.

Is the Leshan Giant Buddha worth it?

Yes — it's YesGo's top day trip from Chengdu, as long as you can handle stairs and some queueing. Photos don't convey the scale: standing at the Buddha's feet and looking up 71 metres is the moment of the day.

It's not worth it if you arrive at noon on a holiday weekend and only have the cliff walk in mind — you may spend more time in line than with the Buddha. In that case take the boat. Without a full day to spare, the panda base in Chengdu is the easier choice.

What to see in the scenic area

• The Buddha's head — a viewing terrace at the top of the cliff, next to Lingyun Temple (凌云寺).
• Lingyun Plank Road — the narrow path cut into the cliff down to the feet. The older Nine-Turn Plank Road (Jiuqu) on the other side is closed for repairs.
• The platform at the feet — the top of one foot could hold about a hundred people.
• Niches of carved bodhisattvas on both sides of the statue — more than ninety of them.
• Mahao cliff tombs — Han-dynasty tombs cut into the rock on the way south.
• Wuyou Temple (乌尤寺) on the next hill across a bridge — quieter and greener than the main trail.

How long is the queue on the plank road?

The main queue is for the walk down to the feet. At opening it's under half an hour; by late morning it's 1–2 hours, and at weekends and holidays it can stretch to 2–3. The path is narrow and one-way, so once you're in, you're in until the bottom.

Weekdays are best, and the first hour after opening best of all. If the line is enormous when you arrive, don't sink half your day into it — take the boat instead. Winter is quieter, but the park closes at 17:30.

Leshan and Mount Emei: one trip or two?

Mount Emei, one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains, is about 30 km from Leshan; the train from Leshan to Emeishan takes around 20 minutes. But the mountain needs its own day — buses and a cable car to the Golden Summit, a separate ticket and separate queues.

Doing both in one day from Chengdu leaves about an hour at each, and YesGo doesn't recommend it. A better two-day plan: the Buddha in the morning, move on to Emei in the evening and stay at the foot of the mountain, then go up the next day. If you have one day only, choose the Buddha.

A short history of the Buddha

The monk Hai Tong started carving in 713, hoping the Buddha would tame the dangerous currents where the Min, Dadu and Qingyi rivers meet. After his death his disciples carried on with backing from local officials, and the statue was completed around 803 under the governor Wei Gao. The rock dumped into the river during the work really did calm the current.

A 13-storey wooden pavilion once sheltered the statue, but it disappeared long ago. The Buddha was listed as a Sichuan cultural relic in 1956 and joined the UNESCO World Heritage List with Mount Emei in 1996.

Guided tour or on your own?

Going independently is cheaper and quite simple: train, taxi and a passport-linked ticket — about ¥300 in total with the boat. The tricky parts are weekend train tickets and the Chinese-only booking mini-program.

A tour from Chengdu with a car and guide solves both and gets you to the gate at opening time — sensible in your first days in China, before Alipay and mobile data are sorted. A guide will also explain the carvings along the stairway.

Chengdu's temples and sacred sites compared

Places of faith in Chengdu, rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

How to do it right

• Be at the North Gate at opening — for the first hour the queue to the feet is almost empty.
• Book your return train at least six hours after you arrive — the queue can eat your margin.
• There are few toilets on the cliff path — go before you start down.
• If the queue is over two hours, switch plans: the boat shows the whole statue in half an hour.
• Save the Chinese names — 成都东站, 乐山站, 乐山大佛景区 — to show taxi drivers.
• Lingyun Temple is a working temple: keep your voice down and don't photograph people praying.

Questions