Leshan Buddha

View of the Great Buddha from the river
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (iv)(vi)(x)
Property : 15400.0000 ha
Eimeishan City, Sichuan Province
N29 32 41.64 E103 46 9.3
Ref: 779

Brief Description
The first Buddhist temple in China was built here in Sichuan Province in the 1st century A.D. in the beautiful surroundings of the summit Mount Emei. The addition of other temples turned the site into one of Buddhism's holiest sites. Over the centuries, the cultural treasures grew in number. The most remarkable is the Giant Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century and looking down on the confluence of three rivers. At 71 m high, it is the largest Buddha in the world. Mount Emei is also notable for its exceptionally diverse vegetation, ranging from subtropical to subalpine pine forests. Some of the trees there are more than 1,000 years old.



峨眉山—乐山大佛
公元1世纪，在四川省峨嵋山景色秀丽的山巅上，落成了中国第一座佛教寺院。随着四周其他寺庙的建立，该地成为佛教的主要圣地之一。许多世纪以来，文化财富大量积淀，最著名的要属乐山大佛，它是8世纪时人们在一座山岩上雕凿出来的，俯瞰着三江交汇之所。佛像身高71米，堪称世界之最。峨嵋山还以其物种繁多、种类丰富的植物而闻名天下，从亚热带植物到亚高山针叶林可谓应有尽有，有些树木树龄已逾千年。
Source: UNESCO/BPI

Justification for Inscription

The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property under cultural criteria (iv) and (vi) considering the area of Mt. Emei is of exceptional cultural significance, since it is the place where Buddhism first became established on Chinese territory and from where it spread widely throughout the east. It is also an area of natural beauty into which the human element has been integrated, and natural criterion (x) for its high plant species diversity with a large number of endemic species. It also underlined the importance of the link between the tangible and intangible, the natural and the cultural.