I’m hoping to go to Leshan on the weekend, but I’ve been doing a little bit of research. As far as I can tell, the cheapest way to get there is to take a train to Mt. Emei and a bus to Leshan, although you can also bus straight from Chengdu North Train Station to Leshan for about ¥50 one-way, if you wanna avoid the hassle. If you go in the morning, be prepared to deal with huge crowds, it’s supposed to get better in the afternoon (also, hotter). There are 2 ways to see the Buddha, taking a ferry that costs about ¥70 and goes right to the toe or entering the park and walking down (costs about ¥90 or ¥50 with a student ID, but you get to see the rest of the park).
Do you speak Chinese? I’m probably going to go buy a ticket sometime later this week, maybe after all the May Day insanity has died down, and I speak enough Chinese to be useful, you’re welcome to tag along.