Monkey mountain magic

This gentle giant was chiseled into the bluff starting from AD 713, during a 90-year-campaign led by a monk named Hai Tong.

Visitors to Leshan's 1.7-sq-km scenic area, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Emei Mountain in 1996, can also visit the nearby cavern in which the lama lived.

According to legend, when the Tang government considered slashing funding, the monk scooped out his eyes in a show of pious devotion. Hearing this seemed to paint the whole Van Gogh ear-disembodiment story in a less impressive light.

The result of Hai Tong's piety seems to show if faith can't actually move mountains, it can at least reshape them.

But the monk died before the project's completion, and his disciples finished the job.

Leshan's Giant Buddha was built at the churning confluence of the Min, Qingyi and Dadu rivers, where fiendish aquatic demons were believed to cause frequent shipwrecks.

Ironically, the Maitreya's creation did help; so much rock was chipped out of the gorge that the debris slowed the currents, enabling ships to pass safely.

Several smaller bodhisattvas are also carved into the escarpment, but most were beheaded during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). There are also a few temples, including the Wuyou Monastery, and similar sacred spots.

The Dragon's Pool and Tiger's Lair are said to have been created when a white tiger and black dragon - inspired by Buddhist scriptures - turned themselves into stone to guard the giant Buddha.

The tiger crouches poised to strike in front of a small cave, while the stone dragon slinks above a pool brimming with koi that flash gold, like fistfuls of coins dropped in the water, when they swim.

With its natural and supernatural appeal, from monkeys to monks, we found Emei's peaks to be a highpoint of Sichuan travel.