Lingshan Grand Buddha

The Lingshan Buddha was completed at the end of 1996 on a hillside above Lake Tai at the site of a Tang temple, a standing Buddha of eighty-eight metres including its lotus base, cast in bronze and weighing over seven hundred tonnes, among the tallest Buddha statues in the world. Visitors climb over two hundred steps to the base. Around it the complex includes the Nine Dragons bathing Sakyamuni fountain, which opens on a schedule to reveal a golden infant Buddha rising as water jets play, and the Brahma Palace, a large ceremonial hall completed in 2008 with heavily decorated interiors of lacquer, glass and murals used for Buddhist forums.

Highlights

• The bronze Buddha - eighty-eight metres standing above the lake.
• The Nine Dragons fountain - the timed water display revealing a golden figure.
• The Brahma Palace - the elaborately decorated modern ceremonial hall.
• The lake setting - Taihu spread out below the hillside.

When to go

March to May and September to November; the fountain display runs to a posted schedule several times daily, and timing a visit around it matters. Buddhist festivals bring large crowds.

Things to know

Everything here is modern, built from the 1990s onward, which disappoints visitors expecting antiquity. The site is large with a lot of walking and stairs. Entry is expensive by Chinese standards.

Nearby

Yuantouzhu lies along the same shore; Wuxi is east.

Key facts