Monkey mountain magic

The stroll back to the cable car took us past thousands of "lovers' locks" dangling from railings. Couples buy the locks from vendors, and after engraving their names and securing them to the fences, hurl the keys over the edge of the crag.

Disembarking from the cable car, we were back in the primeval forests that are home to more than 2,000 species of animals and 280 kinds of butterflies. But the mountain is better known for its flora and is home to about 10 percent of China's plant varieties and a third of Sichuan's.

There were about 20 temples left to choose from, but we settled upon the Baoguo Temple near the mountain's base.

Appropriately, the Buddhist monastery had an earthier feel than the summit, with most structures fashioned from wood and stone, and seeming to blend into the timberland.

The next day we took the 40-km bus ride to Leshan to see the world's largest stone Buddha.

Towering 71 m from the base of the cliff into which it was carved, the Maitreya likeness' shoulders span 28 m, and his toenails are big enough for a person to sit on.