Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area

China's first Buddhist temple rose on Mount Emei in Sichuan in the 1st century AD, and shrines multiplied until the mountain ranked among the faith's holiest places. Nearby, carved from a hillside in the 8th century, the 71-metre Giant Buddha of Leshan gazes over the meeting of three rivers — the largest Buddha statue on Earth. Forests running from subtropical to subalpine, with trees over 1,000 years old, complete a site UNESCO inscribed as mixed World Heritage in 1996.