China, Sichuan Province, Leshan, Leshan Giant Buddha

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Sichuan

It's fitting that an ancient form of opera and magic called biànliǎn (face-changing) originated here, for Sichuan (四川, Sìchuān) is a land of many guises. Capital Chengdu shows a modern face, but just beyond its ring roads you'll find a more traditional landscape of mist-shrouded, sacred mountains, and a countryside scattered with ancient villages and cliffs of carved Buddhas.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Dzongsar Monastery

    Dzongsar Monastery

    Sichuan

    One of the oldest, most important and certainly most visibly impressive monastery complexes in Kham, the remote Dzongsar Monastery sits on a sharp ridge…

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    Yading Nature Reserve

    Sichuan

    The magnificent Yading Nature Reserve, 140km south of Daocheng, centres around three sacred snowcapped mountains, a holy trinity encircled by forested…

  • Le Shan Grand Buddha

    Le Shan Grand Buddha

    Sichuan

    Le Shan’s serene, 1200-year-old Grand Buddha sits in repose, carved from a cliff face overlooking the confluence of three busy rivers: the Dadu, Min and…

  • Pigments used for painting

    Bakong Scripture Printing Press

    Sichuan

    This fascinating 1729 printing press houses an ongoing printing operation that still uses traditional woodblock printing methods and maintains more than…

  • Pandas at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.

    Giant Panda Breeding Research Base

    Chengdu

    One of Chengdu’s most popular attractions, this panda park 18km north of the city centre is the easiest way to glimpse Sichuan’s most famous residents…

  • Ser Gyergo Nunnery

    Ser Gyergo Nunnery

    Sichuan

    Known locally as ani gompa (Tibetan for ‘nunnery’), Hépíng Fǎhùi is home to around 500 nuns and more than 100 monks. Lama Tsemper was a revered hermit who…

  • Former Residence of the 7th Dalai Lama

    Former Residence of the 7th Dalai Lama

    Sichuan

    Kelzang Gyatso (1708–57), the seventh Dalai Lama, was born in a cold, dark, cave-like room in the basement of this house during a period of intense…

  • Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base

    Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base

    Sichuan

    Ya'an Bifengxia Panda Base was established in prime forest in Ya'an in 2003 for research purposes rather than tourism, and its mission expanded in 2008…

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Articles

Latest stories from Sichuan

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Wildlife & Nature

Where to see pandas in China as it plans for a Giant Panda National Park

Jun 24, 2019 • 5 min read

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Sichuan and beyond

Beyond Sichuan
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