Jiajiang Thousand Buddha Grotto

Jiajiang Thousand Buddha Crotto, or sometimes called Thousand Buddha Cliff by some, is a group of Buddha statues carved out of rocks by the side of Qingyi River near Leshan and Emeishan in Sichuan. It is one of the many Buddha Grotto Relics from Tang Dynasty in southern Sichuan. Jiajia Thousand Buddha Grotto is called Jiajiang Qianfo Yan in Chinese. It is located 40km northwest to the Leshan Grand Buddha Statue and 30km northeast to the mountain of Emei.

As were of many other Grottos here, Jiajiang Qianfo Grottos were carved in Tang Dynasty (around 1300 years ago), a time when Buddhism was popular and building Buddhist temples, carving Buddhist statues were popular acts by the people. Unlike the Leshan Grand Buddha that was conducted by the “officials”, Jiajiang Thousand Buddhas were done by people. This place was listed as an important national cultural site by government due to its long history as early as Tang Dynasty, and its paper-making museum along with some other historical sites and temples.

Thousand Buddha indicates the many statues with different sizes that are carved out by the rocks on the riverside. In total 162 caves here are home to total around 2500 Buddha statues with different sizes. The biggest statue is a Metreya Buddha that is 2.7m tall and looks similar as the Leshan Grand Buddha.

Jiajiang Qianfo Grotto is a good place to stop and learn the history of the Buddhist tradition by certain time in history of China, It is a small park and it’s in between the drive to Leshan/Emei from Chengdu.

Business Hour: 09:00-17:00

Entrance Ticket Fee :50yuan

Recommended Time to Spend:1-2h