China's Leshan giant Buddha gets wet feet in Yangtze flood

Almost 10 million visit Leshan's gian Buddha a year. Photo / Christels, Wikimedia Commons

Floods on the Yangtze River, southern China have risen high enough to the toes of the giant statue of Buddha in Leshan.

The 71metre statue at the Unesco heritage site has gotten its feet wet in the most severe flooding since the 1940s.

100,000 people have been evacuated during the flooding in southern China, with local government being forced to move residents from the river's upper reaches.

The 1200-year-old, 62-tonne statue could not be moved. The Yangtze hasn't touched the statue in over 70 years reported Chinese news outlet Xinhau. Fittingly the giant, carved Buddha seems unfazed by the rising water levels – stoically waiting for the flood to pass.

Carved out of the side of Mount Emei, the statue is at the centre of the Unesco world heritage site in Sichuan.

Meanwhile Leshan's Big Buddha water level still rising -> more pressure to come on Chongqing and. #ThreeGorgesDam. #ChinaFloods pic.twitter.com/DIbrdw9IEl

— Guccio Elchino (@80Elchi) August 19, 2020

Almost 8 million tourists make the pilgrimage to see the Buddha each year, with daily visitors having to be capped at 22,400 during the high season according to the South China Morning Post.

River cruises are a big business powered by local tourists arriving via Chengdu.

However since Monday, the area has been cut off to visitors. Leshan officials released a statement via Weibo, saying they hoped it would be open later this week following safety checks.

Although late summer floods are common in the region, which has been heavily affected by large engineering projects, this year's flood is historic.

Local superstition holds that the wetting of the Leshan Buddha's feed is a sign that the region – which is home to 16 million people – will experience hardships, most likely flooding reported the state news agency Xinhua

There are warnings regarding large build up of water behind the Yangtze's Three Gorges Dam, the largest HEP project in the world.

Further floods have been predicted upstream by the Ministry of Water Resources of the dam affecting areas including the city of Chongqing.