The Buddha is located to the east of Leshan City, Sichuan Province, at the confluence of three rivers, namely, Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River. The carving of this massive statue commenced in 713AD during the Tang dynasty and was only completed in 803AD. The Buddha is over 71 meters (230ft tall with 28-meter (92ft) wide shoulders and a 15-meter (49ft) high head. More than 100 people can sit between the Buddha's feet. It is also the tallest stone Buddha statue in the world. There is a local saying: "The mountain is a Buddha and the Buddha is a mountain".

The Leshan Giant Buddha is as famous as the standing Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan and all of them are regarded as cultural heritages of mankind. With a sitting height of 71 meters, the Leshan Giant Buddha is the world's largest statue of a Buddha carved in rock. The colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan stood 53 and 38 meters high and were the world's second and third largest Buddhas carved in rock. The Leshan Buddha still sits in a majestic manner, but the Buddhas of Bamiyan have been destroyed by man.

Mount Emei and the Leshan Giant Buddha have now been unified into one scenic area and were put on the world cultural and natural heritage lists in 1996.