Lingshan Buddha

We had the opportunity to get out of town (well, just the city-since technically we were still in Wuxi) for the weekend, so we packed our bags and headed to the Lingshan Buddha which is about an hour drive from here.

Seeing the big Buddha was something I have had on my list of places to see while we are living here. There are a lot of tourist attractions I could care less about, but the Buddha isn't one of them.

Although the entrance to the Buddha was quite crowded, once inside the grounds, there was tons of space to walk freely, which was nicer than what I'm used to. Usually at the tourist attractions, you're part of a herd of disorderly cattle whether you like it or not. We took Sal's new lightweight "travel" stroller that I purchased for an upcoming trip (Osaka--sashimi anyone?) and it was much easier for NZ to haul up the steps than our daily SUV sized stroller. He took the stroller, I manned the boy. There were too many steps to count, but I believe one of my expat friend's daughters counted, and it was in the ballpark of 270 stairs up to the Buddha. That's a lot of stairs to lug a stroller and a 24 pound kid up.

The sun was shining and although the typical Wuxi smog muddled the view, the landscape was beautiful. After months of living in a concrete jungle, to see such an expanse of greenery was a nice change.

Hitching a ride with dad

Touching the Buddha baby for good fortune

Many people hoping for good fortune

A meditating monk

Sal and Nick

The big Buddha

We had a wonderful time, and it is on our list of places to take our visitors. Not only is it a beautiful, mostly uncrowded tourist attraction-- it is also a really good workout!

My legs hate me today!