Located at the confluence of three rivers: 岷江, 大渡河, 青衣江, Leshan Giant Buddha  nestles stately against the cliff of 凌雲山, city of Leshan, in the vicinity of  Chengdu.  It is the tallest Buddha statue in the world, of 73 meters from bottom to top, also one of the certified World Heritages of Mainland China.   

Construction was started in AD 713, led by a monk named Haitong(海通和尚). He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that inflicted upon the shipping vessels traveling down the river.  It was said when funding for the project he was threatened, so he had to gouge out his own eyes to demonstrate his piety and sincerity.  After his death, however, the construction was delayed due to insufficient funding. About 70 years later, a jiedushi(節度使) decided to sponsor the project and the construction was completed by Haitong's disciples in a span of total 90 years.

But it had been actually the engineering that scientifically made the difference on improving security of shipping in the rivers instead of the protection from Buddha.  Because according to experts, apparently, the massive construction resulted in so much stone being removed from the cliff face and deposited into the river below that the currents were indeed altered by the statue, making the water safer for passing ships. A sophisticated drainage system was also incorporated into the Leshan Giant Buddha when it was built. It is still in working order.  Nevertheless,  the construction left a piece of priceless legacy to our whole nation, and to whole mankind.   

However, we should endeavor to do more preservation towards the statue.  Because, the tour guide told me,  when the Giant Buddha was carved, a huge thirteen storey stone "mask", was also built to shelter it from rain and sunshine. This structure was vandalized and sacked by the Mongols during the wars at the end of Yuan Dynasty. From then on, the stone statue was exposed to the elements.   Obviously, Buddha can not protect his own incarnation alone, nor can he brave the elements all by himself.