Temples in the Cliffside

Winner of the 2023 IPPY – Gold – Religion Nonfiction category, sponsored by the Independent Publisher Book Award Centuries of monumental sculpture, embedded in the landscape At sixty-two meters the Leshan Buddha in southwest China is the world’s tallest premodern statue. Carved out of a riverside cliff in the eighth century, it has evolved from a religious center to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist destination. But this Buddha does not stand alone: Sichuan is home to many cave te