Leshan

Leshan - this once a sleepy town has more to offer than its infamous Grand Buddha.  Not far from the statue there is Wuyou Temple.

The entrance to the Wuyou Temple is guarded by four statues.  It works the same way for all buddhist temples.

Grand Buddha Temple is right next to the statue's head.

Also nearby Leshan is the Thousand-Buddha Cliffs where literally thousands of small Buddha statues dot the cliffs (from 25-220AD).

Emeishan

    The climb to Emeishan, one of the buddhist sacred mountains, is hard and exhausting.  The weather allowed a few pictures to be taken down in the valley (notice the monkeys that wait along the trail and beg food off hikers).  Higher in the mountain the fog grew thicker and the visibility became rather poor, especially for picture taking.
    On the way up, off the beaten path, there is at least one natural coal mine where locals using very little mechanization dig for coal for living.  There is a small altar by the entrance, assumingly to protect the miners (two photos below).
 

Guardians of the coal mine and its workers

 
 

(c) 1998 Frantisek Brabec