Lushan Buddha, near Wuxi, China

Tom Scalia, a good fella (really, he's Italian) and I traveled to the Lushan Buddha outside of Wuxi, China on a warm and very humid day on September 4, 2010. The taxi ride took about 35 minutes and was not an ordinary ride. Many times I muttered "oh crap" when the driver drove on the shoulder or opposite lane to get around someone. Getting to the Buddha was a good thing.

The Buddha was visible well before we arrived. This statue stands some 80 meters on top of a hill. The Buddha is visible on the photo adjacent to the far pole on the lower left.

The ticket area was teaming with bus groups and families. I was like any other park I've been to in the US. The park initially had a feeling of a day at the park with the trinkets and incense for sale. I found later that I was mistaken. This was a seriously faithful place from many Buddhists. The photos show a group of older tour bus folks and what appeared to be a reunion of family members. 

After getting in the park, the event that we faced was the opening of the Young Buddha show.  It was quite an event.  The music played for the guests was extremely loud and I think somewhat gaudy.  Many things I saw this day were very much "over the top".  The visual aspects were interesting and enjoyable watching the young Buddha turn, get sprayed with water, and them get closed into the lotus. 

From the young Buddha, the next stopping point was the prayer area.  This among the highlights of the visit, the other being watching the monks chant after the prayer area.  I know a little about Buddhism from reading the Dhammapada and other readings about yoga and mediation.  I was not ready for what I saw today with the prayer with the incense and at each Deity.  The prayer at the incense area was real and pervasive with the smoke permeating your cloths.  Watching the faithful today was similar to watching the faithful during my visit to the Vatican. 

The funnest part of the site was the laughing Buddha.  The bronze chubby guy is covered with little kids climbing all over this laughing guy.  Apparently tickled.  I think each of the little kids had a different expression.  I had quite a few laughs with this spot.

A building between the laughing Buddha and the stairs contained many other Deities and a very interesting religious act.  We walked in at the beginning of a Buddhist prayer involving chanting, a drum, and a bell, all by monks.  It was mesmerising. 

Then the long walk up the steps to the Lushan Buddha.  The walk was long but interesting with the panels at the landing and the view from the stairs.   A museum greeted us at the base of the Lushan Buddha.  Some interesting artifacts, some misinformation (regarding the Chinese belief of the origin of the Buddha), and some interesting grotto's. 

We attended a high production show at one of the temples.  It was an interesting building and show.  Good to see once. 

We were pestered by someone who wanted to drive the westerners back but a taxi driver was gracious and we jumped into his cab for the ride back to the city.