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Published: January 16th 2006
Anna and I
Being around big things is cool because you get a sense of.. of how little you are, and much people can achieve, and just.. reality. Dizziness from vertigo is easy but have you ever looked ^up^ and felt dizzy with awe?As part of a two day tour package that Anna's family so kindly booked for the two of us, we were to explore this mountain and Mt Emeishan (yeehah!!!) in the next two days.
Once we arrived, Anna and I got separated from the rather oversized tour group and the guide had a rant at us for wandering off! well.. what with the resentment from the 'museum' (read: "tourist trap") earlier coupled with the sight of a 3hr queue just to get to the actual buddha, we motivated a couple of fellow 'separatists' and effectively defected from the group.
So, we took the boat. It cost a little extra but at least we could actually get the whole thing in our photos!
(see the things I do for you guys?)
The buddha is a mountain, and the mountain is a buddha
The interesting thing about the buddha was actually the history behind it.
See, Leshan is located where 3 rivers all meet in a messy, flood inducing death pit of hell (ok ok ok) so the council were gonna temper the waters by fillling up the river bottom; shallow water is slower, hence less dangerous. Lucky for them there is a huge cliff face next to the spot
One sad buddha, apparently.
Look closely. See the people in the background? That's the scale. See the 'tear' in the corner of his eye? That apparently sparked media frenzy a few years ago because they claimed it was a sign of Buddha's unhappiness with the state of the world, what with global warming, dying rainforests, animals going extinct and George Bush not. they're gonna work on. But how to fund such a project?
"Aha! We'll carve it into a massive buddha and convince the locals that they're appeasing his holiness!" lol! I came all the way to see ancient marketing!
BUT all was not well. Government corruption was so bad that a mean official demanded all the 'donations', threatening to execute any who disagreed.
So, the inspirational thing is that the guy in charge actually stood up to this official and refused. In the clash that ensued, the official said:
Do you know who I am? I could have your eyes gouged out if I ordered it!
to which, the lowly project manager responded to by ACTUALLY GOUGING OUT HIS LEFT EYE and handing it to him on a platter!
This frightened the official so much that he gave up.
Hmmmm. I know that the story sounds.. 'tweaked' but in the end I actually think that this guy was pretty ingenius.. He didn't have much to bargain with, yet managed to save the project, and also his right eye.. not particularly imparing his vision.. yeah.
Afterwards we got a partial refund from the tour operators and decided to do Emeishan ourselves, dammit. Alone is stronger. well.. er..
ach, pesky tour guides.
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Hans
Hans J. Schneider
wonderful commentary and photos
I really enjoyed your photos and running commentary, and look forward to your future ovservations. I'm a retiring teacher who will be teaching English in Jiangsu Province in May '06. Even though my photos have not been uploaded yet, perhaps you'll like to read my blog-entries at: www.Travelblog.org/Bloggers/Hans My first visit to China this past summer became a great adventure, and I hope you will continue your travels and share them with us. Thank you, Hans