Leshan Overview

Basic Information

• Chinese Name: 乐山
• Location: Southwest of Sichuan
• Area: 12720.03 square kilometers
• Population: 3.5184 million million
• Language: Mandarin, Sichuan Dialect

Administrative Division

Leshan governs one city, four municipal districts, four counties and 2 autonomous counties. There are a total of 7 subdistricts, 211 townships (towns), 1984 villages and 264 communities. Municipal government is situated at No. 97, Binjiang Road, Poshui Street, Shizhong district.

1 City: Emeishan City(峨眉山市)
4 Districts: Shizhong District(市中区), Shawan District(沙湾区), Wutongqiao District(五通桥区), Jinkouhe District(金口河区),
4 Counties: Qianwei County(犍为县), Jingyan County(井研县), Jiajiang County(夹江县), Muchuan County(沐川县)
2 Autonomous Counties: Ebian Yi Autonomous County(峨边彝族自治县), Mabian Yi Autonomous County(马边彝族自治县)

Geography

The city of Leshan, literally meaning "happy mountain" is situated on the border of the southwestern part of the Sichuan Basin – also called the Red Basin, at the confluence of the Dadu, Min and Qingyi rivers. The basin lies at 500m above sea level – and as low as 200m in some places. Leshan City proper spans roughly 800sq km, lying between east longitude 102 ° 15 '~ 104 ° 15' and north latitude 28 ° 28 '~ 29 ° 56'. It borders Meishan in the north, Zigong in the east, Yibin in the south, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Ya 'an in the west. 

Leshan is located in the transition zone from Sichuan basin to southwest mountainous area. The relative height difference is 3,981 meters, with an average elevation of 500 meters, and the elevation of Leshan city is 360 meters. There are mountain land, hilly area and plains., among which mountain land dominates. 

Climate

Leshan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate and is largely mild and humid. Winter is short, mild and dry, with a January average of 7.2 °C (45.0 °F), and while frost may occur, snow is rare. Summers are long, hot and humid, with highs often exceeding 30 °C (86 °F), yet extended heat waves are rare. The daily average in July and August is around 26 °C (79 °F). Rainfall is light in winter and can be heavy in summer, and more than 70% of the annual total occurs from June to September.

Read more about Leshan Climate.

Best Time to Visit

Actually Leshan is suitable to visit all the year round for each season has a different scenery. In terms of climate, Leshan has more rainfall in summer and more wet and cold weather in winter. So spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons to travel Leshan. In addition, there are activities such as Azalea festival, Pengzu Longevity Festival, Caihou Festival and Zhangye Festival in Leshan. You can also choose a Leshan tour to experience the local folk culture at this time. 

Things to Do

Leshan Giant Buddha is the must-see highlight of Leshan City. For centuries, it have been revered with Mount Emei by visitors from near and far for their intrinsic value as Buddist heritage sites. Notable scenic resorts in the surrounding area are: Wutongqiao (nicknamed 'Small West Lake') which is an ancient waterside town; Lingyun Temple Museum located on Linyun Mountain, Luocheng Ancient Town which is well-known for its ship like appearance. Moreover, the city is the hometown of Guo Moruo (1892-1978) who a famous Chinese literary figure and you can visit The Former Residence of Guo Moruo.

Read more about Leshan Attractions.

Transportation

Leshan has a convenient transportation network of railway, road, water and air. Leshan city proper is only 150 kilometers away from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and there is a civil aviation office in the city to buy tickets from Chengdu to other cities. Emei Railway Station is the must stop on the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, where about 20 trains stop here. Tourists take the Chengdu-Mianyang-Leshan Intercity High-speed Train, which only takes about 45 minutes to Leshan. Leshan and Emeishan are 31 kilometers away from each other which are connected by expressways connected. Coach to Leshan are available from Chengdu, Chongqing, Neijiang, Zigong, Yaan and Yibin. Besides, the sea route Leshan-Yibing-Luzhou-Chongqing is very convenient for traveling by water.

Read more about Leshan Transportation.

History & Culture

The history of Leshan can be traced back to more than 3000 years ago and has always been intertwined with the Leshan Grand Buddha. Around 2000 BC, Leshan copper ware appeared. In ancient times, the city was known under the name of "Jiazhou" (嘉州). There was a saying 'Where there is the most beautiful landscape in all Sichuan, there is Jiazhou'. Leshan had a great reputation for its abundant nature and beautiful landscapes. Leshan is famous in China for its more than 2,000 years of Buddhist culture. Mount Emei, home to 26 temples, is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. The Leshan Giant Buddha, built during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), was carved out of a cliff face at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers. The 71-meter-tall Buddha statue took 90 years to complete.

Economy

Leshan is Sichuan's production base of grain, non-staple food, clean energy, new materials and building materials, and national center for quality supervision and inspection of silicon materials and by-products approved by AQSIQ(General Administration of Quality Supervision). Leshan is an excellent tourist city in China and a famous historical and cultural city in China. Its tourism economy ranks second only to Chengdu in the province. In recent years, the contribution of tourism to Leshan's GDP has never been lower than 50%, even as high as 70%. 

Tourism

Leshan is an excellent tourist city in China and a famous historical and cultural city in China. Its tourism economy ranks second only to Chengdu in the province. Leshan tourism will focus on four aspects, namely, international tourism destination, China’s international Buddhist cultural tourism destination, national tourism resort and provincial tourism commodity distribution center. Leshan will strive to improve the service quality and expand the bearing capacity, and create a new chapter in the development of Leshan tourism.

Dining

Leshan is an ancient Sichuanese city and has a largely ‘pre-chili pepper’ cuisine. Leshan is noted for its food culture in that it has all the street food from its surrounding areas, which has made it the one-stop street food city. The famous Leshan food are Boboji, QiaoJiao Beef, Sweet-Skinned Duck, etc. 

Read more about Leshan Dining.