Leshan or Qingcheng Mountain?

[Gaijin]

When I head to Chengdu in a few months, I’ll only have a few days there. I theoretically could do both Leshan and Mount Qingcheng, but realistically I prefer to take it easy, and two day trips out of the city may be pushing it a bit for me.

Are either of these particularly better than the other? Or are they both so good as to be worth it to do both, or neither so good as to bother doing either?

All thoughts appreciated.

[Rick in China]

Leshan by itself is essentially a usually-crowded walk around a buddha-filled park, not that large – and seeing the giant buddha itself. It’ll typically be a couple hours, max…that’s if you wander slowly and see it all. You can also take the little boat which lets you get a different angle of the big buddha. There isn’t a whole lot else going on in Leshan – that’s why most Leshan trips are Emei/Leshan combo trips, where Leshan usually makes a good ‘stop over’ on the way back from Emei. An Emei/Leshan trip could be early morning -> Emei, combo of Gondolas & hiking, find some monkeys, and stay up near the top, monasteries can be stayed @ also – early the following morning, wake up and hope you don’t get a cloudy day for sunrise, head off and do the afternoon @ Leshan before coming back to Chengdu.

Qingcheng has one of my preferred ‘artificial’ hotsprings @ the howard johnson, and the back side of the mountain & the little ‘old town’ (it’s brand new, now, though) at the back side base is a chill place. It’s a good overnight trip also. You can also head in to Dujiangyan for a lunch or dinner meal, there are some relatively overpriced and not so great restaurants (but nice view) by the main scenic area in the city, the bridges over the river.

[Charlie]

It depends on what you’d really like to see – the buddha at Leshan is a local monument which is a pretty amazing sight. The surrounding park is large and nice to walk around in as well, but I’d make sure to go on a weekday. Weekends are too crowded, especially at the buddha because the stairs which go around the structure are single-file.

Qingcheng Shan I’m really fond of, and that’s where I prefer to go now, having seen the buddha many times. There are two sides to the mountain, the front has temples and the back is more remote.

Rick in China wrote:

Qingcheng has one of my preferred ‘artificial’ hotsprings @ the howard johnson, and the back side of the mountain & the little ‘old town’ (it’s brand new, now, though) at the back side base is a chill place.

I’ve been here also, this place is really nice. Although I would say that winter is the most enjoyable time to visit there.

[Gaijin]

Thanks guys. Qingcheng sounds more like what I’d be into rather than Leshan. I’m sure the big buddah is cool, but I’ve already seen some pretty big buddahs. I’m into nature/outdoors more, so Qingcheng sounds like what I need to do!

[Author]

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