Day three found us on our way to visit
Huanglongxi Old Town (Yellow Dragon Town). I thought you might like to experience our journey through Chengdu to our destination, so I took this short video of the manic traffic.
Huanglongxi is an ancient town with a history of more than 1,700 years, it is situated in Shuangliu County, 30 kilometers southeast from Chengdu.
Arriving at our destination we followed our guide into the town, notice the locals keeping to the traditional way of carrying goods.
There is a lovely stream running through the centre of the town, beautifully clean and decorated with traditional ornaments.
It even has a working water wheel!
There were some very interesting food stalls.
Traditional birds in cages,
buildings,
and transport.
Two small temples
and an offering tree.
There was a magazine photo shoot taking place whilst we were there using traditional costumes.
We really enjoyed our visit to the old town but it was time to board the coach again and travel to Leshan for lunch, before boarding a boat to take us to view the Giant Buddha.
The other way to see the Giant Buddha is to walk down from the top near the head and end at its feet,
walk across the walkway in front of the Buddha
and up the other side.
Of course we took the easier option!
Begun in the year 713 in the Tang Dynasty,
and finished in the year 803, the statue took people more than 90 years
to carve. During these years, thousands of workers had expended their
efforts and wisdom on the project. As the biggest carved stone Buddha in
the world, the Giant Buddha is featured in poetry, song and story.
Facing the river, the Buddha has symmetrical posture and looks which
have been beautifully captured in its solemn stillness. It is 71 meters
(about 233 feet) high, and has 8.3-meter-long (about 27 feet) fingers.
The 9-meter-wide (about 30 feet) instep is big enough for one hundred
people to sit on and the 24-meter-wide (about 79 feet) shoulder is large
enough to be a basketball playground. It truly is a spectacle to behold.
We had really enjoyed our third day in China taking in the culture but it we had to return to the hotel, rather late that day so we ordered room service and enjoyed a burger and fries, a nice change from a Chinese Banquet! LOL
Please join me in Part 4 when we visit the Bamboo Park and journey to Chongqing.
