Over the centuries, the cultural treasures grew in number. The most remarkable is the Giant Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century and looking down on the confluence of three ...

The giant Buddha statue is carved into a cliff of sandy rocks at the Tianti Mountain, separated by a dam in the Huangyang River Reservoir in Wuwei, Gansu province. SHEN LONGQUAN/FOR CHINA DAILY ...