Emeishan and Leshan
South of Chengdu, in Sichuan province, lies Mt. Emei (Emeishan) and The Giant Buddha of Leshan. Emeishan is one of China's sacred mountains, dedicated to Samantabhadra, the Buddha of Truth/Virtue. There are 10 monasteries dotting Emeishan and thousands of stairs leading the way to the top. (There are also cable cars, if you don't feel like hiking all the way.) And there are lots and lots and lots of monkeys!
There are even a few guesthouses at the top of the mountain, and my hope is that we can spend one night at the top and get up early to see the sunrise, which is supposed to be spectacular. Since we are going in April, it shouldn't be too foggy, so I think we'll have some amazing views. Although the fog is rather dreamy and romantic....
We'll also visit the big, big Buddha at Leshan, which is the largest stone-carved Buddha in the world. Mark and I saw this really touching Chinese movie a while back that I can't remember the name of now, but part of it was filmed at the feet of this huge Buddha. Oh, and apparently the sister city of Leshan is Gilbert, Arizona! Haha.
Photo courtesy of http://www.travelchinatour.com
Photo courtesy of http://images.travelpod.com/users/tpietruszka
Photo courtesy of http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/01/cabrad