A One-Day Tour Guide to the Dazu Great Buddha Temple Scenic Area in Tongnan District, Chongqing

I am Yue Luo Di Qi Zhou, a travel blogger from Chongqing.
A simple and straightforward one-day tour of Tongnan Dazu Great Buddha Temple:

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📍 Location: Dazu Great Buddha Temple Scenic Area, Tongnan District, Chongqing (by the Fujiang River in the urban area)
🗓 Duration: 1 day
💰 Budget: 120 RMB per person

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- 07:30 Take the "Tongnan Express" bus from the South Square of Chongqing North Station (about 1.5 hours, ticket price 35 RMB)
Or take Metro Line 6 to "Zhuangyuanbei" and transfer to a bus to get on at Beibei Bus Station
- 09:00 Take a taxi from Tongnan Bus Station for 8 minutes to the main entrance of the Great Buddha Temple (starting fare 8 RMB)
- 09:30 Buy a ticket for 30 RMB, enter the temple and walk along the central axis
See the "Eight Zhang Golden Immortal" — China’s largest indoor golden Buddha, 18.43 meters tall, seated in a large niche
- 10:30 Climb the "Jian Pavilion" to view the S-shaped bend of the Fujiang River
The water looks like green silk, with farmland on the opposite bank, and the wind blows directly on your face from the river
- 11:00 Find the "Stone Steps Qin Sound" historic site
The eighteen stone steps sound like a qin (Chinese zither) when stepped on (even more so after rain), hidden under the shade of trees
- 12:00 Eat Tongnan specialty dishes at the "Old Street Canteen" outside the temple (35 RMB)
Must-try: Tai’an Fish (numbing but not spicy), Ironing Board Cake (freshly fried glutinous rice balls)
- 13:30 Walk along the riverside trail deeper into the "Great Buddha Temple Park"
Look for the abandoned ferry dock, old tree root sculptures, and students sketching
- 15:00 Return to the scenic area entrance and buy a bag of "Foyuan Zhai" vegetarian cakes as souvenirs (15 RMB)
Made with soybean and sesame filling, no additives, suitable for both elderly and children
- 16:00 Take a taxi back to the bus station and catch the last bus back to Chongqing

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💰 Total cost:
Transport 43 | Ticket 30 | Food 35 | Snacks 15 | Miscellaneous 20 = 143 RMB
👉 To control budget down to 120 RMB: share a ride to save 8 | skip fish and have noodles to save 10 | don’t buy cakes

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✅ Practical tips:
- The Great Buddha Temple is a genuine cultural relic, built in the Northern Song Dynasty, with continuous incense burning but no high incense sticks
- It’s windy by the river, bring a light jacket
- On weekends, there are temple fair stalls where you can try fried sunflower seeds and cold jelly
- Use a wide-angle lens to photograph inside the Great Buddha, flash photography is prohibited

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I am Yue Luo Di Qi Zhou, next stop is Tongliang Anju Ancient City to find the dragon lantern spirit in the old town roots.