We began the day with a visit to the Lushan Giant Buddha which, at 71 km tall, is the largest sitting outdoor Buddha in the world. The Buddha was completed in the Tang Dynasty after 90 years of construction and is located at the conjunction of three rivers. Local legend has it that since it’s completion there have been no floods in the area. After climbing down the long staircase to the feet of the Buddha and then back up to its head we were absolutely exhausted, and it was time to break for lunch. That afternoon we piled back into our tour bus and drove to Mt. Emei, the tallest sacred Buddhist mountain in China. As the bus climbed the mountain, the air coming through the cracks in the windows grew colder, and bits of snow appeared on the ground. By the time we had reached the place where the bus was to drop us off, the landscape resembled that of a typical Canadian winter. It was a twenty-minute hike to the cable-car station and then a twenty-minute ride up the cable to the top of the mountain. We were cold, tired and slightly grumpy by the time we reached the summit, but the trip was soon proved worthwhile when we caught a glimpse of the spectacular view. From the top of Mt. Emei, we looked out over a sea of clouds. It was easily the most amazing sight of the trip so far.
That night we stayed in a luxurious three-star hotel at the top of the mountain. It had flush toilets, soft beds and heat that worked! The idea was to wake up the next morning to see the sunrise. But, after dragging ourselves out bed at 6:30 to walk back up the look out, we realized that it was far too foggy to see the sun come up. We left the top disappointed, but our time on Mt. Emei was not over. That afternoon we hiked around the centre of the mountain, visiting a monastery on our way. Then we loaded up the bus and drove to supper, then back to the school.
~ Vanessa
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