Set beside the wide convergence of the Qingyi, Min and Dadu rivers, 180km from Chengdu, China and 20km from Emei Shan, LESHAN is a 1300-year-old market town, its centre decked with sleek paving and tall new offices, and its expanding suburbs sprawling continually northwards. Mostly, it's just somewhere to spend a quiet evening before taking a ferry across to the incredible Dafo , who faces the town from his deep niche in the cliffs, and perhaps organizing a day trip out to the odd town of Luocheng .

Leshan train station is actually about 15km away; arriving by road will land you at one of the town's bus stations . The newest is 5km distant on the town's northern outskirts, but an older, more central depot is still in business, about 1km north of the downtown along Shengshui Jie . Under various names, this runs south into the triangular town centre past the huge Minjiang Bridge , a Bank of China and a bizarre crocodile-and-maiden statue. Here Binjiang Lu splits southwest off along the riverfront and down to the ferry terminals . Stay on the main road to reach shopping centres at the crossroads with Dong Dajie, then turn right for the post office and, farther on along Yutang Jie and Baita Jie, the older quarter of town. A taxi is a fixed price of ¥5 for anywhere central.

Dafo aside, there's a good day trip to make 60km southeast of Leshan to LUOCHENG . In addition to an anonymous new town, Luocheng sports an old quarter with original Qing-vintage cobbled streets, wooden and stone gateways and buildings - including a good tea house - narrow lanes, a theatre pavilion where public performances were once held, and a house-lined "square" shaped as a boat - exactly why is a mystery. Buses run here from Leshan, but Luocheng has yet to feature on tourist itineraries, so prepare to be the subject of some curiosity if you visit.

Leshan's best places to stay are the Taoyuan Binguan (tel 0833/231810, fax 232102; basic doubles ¥30-75, or ¥75-100 with bathroom), near the ferry docks on Binjiang Lu; and the Jiazhou Binguan (tel 0833/2139888, fax 2133233; ¥300-500), a smart tour group complex with a pricey river-view restaurant. There are inexpensive places to eat past the Jiazhou on Baita Jie, and all along Binjiang Lu. In addition, the affable Richard Yang will track you down at some point, offering his services as a booking agent, a guide for village tours around Leshan's countryside, and inviting you back to his home at 49 Baita Jie (tel 0833/2112046) for food and chats about his seventy-odd years in Leshan.

Moving on , there are buses to Chengdu and Emei town until 6pm, and less plentiful traffic to Luocheng, Xichang, Zigong, Chongqing, and Ya'an. After the summer rains have raised the river levels high enough, there's also a daily speedboat to Yibin (¥80, 2hr), and a much slower ferry to Chongqing from the docks on Binjiang Lu.