Leshan Giant Buddha | Leshan | Jun 22, 2004 11:21
The city of Leshan is about 1+ hours from Chengdu. I took the local bus & it was really crowded. There was no fixed schedule as well. As soon as it's full, it leaves. But, there are many buses, about 10-15 mins interval.

The Grand Buddha is quite a sight though you've to tag along huge crowds to get to see it. In my opinion, it's still worth the hassle. Afterall, it's the largest stone Buddha in the world carved over a period of 90 years (731-803AD).

Total Height = 71 m.
Head = 14.7 m.
Shoulder = 28 m.

Temple of Confucius | Nanjing | May 24, 2004 15:21
I didnt go here by day as my friend told me there was nothing worth seeing. He said 'meet me at 6pm' which I did, and we had a 'lovely stroll' down the street lined with clothes shops, snack food outlets, music blaring out loud on the speakers and then stopped in KFC which was opposite McDonalds for a cup of tea as it was a cold night! So as you can see, things have changed somewhat to when it was first built!

I didnt even get to see the Temple as apparently its not open to the public anymore!There was a lake at the bottom of the street which was very pretty as there were lights everywhere and pictures of dragons which lit up and fountains which danced to the music.

At this waterfront both day and night, you can hire a leisure boat which slowly takes you down to Zhonghua Men (the big gate in the north within the city walls). This I can imagine to be extremely relaxing, as, afterall, it was on this very same lake that the famous Tang poet Liu Yuxi wrote his most famous poem.

The area was nice and it was apparent that both foreigners and local people visit this area often, and it almost reminded me of the Silk Market In Beijing, but hassle free!!!!

About 2km south of Xinjiekou, leads you to the Temple of Confucius area, which begins at Jiankang Lu, around the bottom end of Taiping Lu.