Get to know Shizhong District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Leshan
- Chinese name
- 市中区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 825.00 km²
- Population · 2020 census
- 814,597
- Administrative seat
- Haitang Subdistrict
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
The riverside Buddha
Carving began in 713 and finished in 803, during the Tang dynasty (唐代). The seated figure, also known as the great stone Maitreya of Lingyun Temple (凌云寺), rises seventy-one metres on Qiluan Peak (栖鸾峰). The scenic area occupies the east bank of the Min in southern Shizhong. Lingbao Pagoda (灵宝塔), Lingyun Temple and Wuyou Lidui (乌尤离堆) are among the surrounding historic sites.
Suji’s older name
Suji sits beside the Emei River (峨眉河). People's Digest dates its formation approximately to the Sui dynasty (隋朝), when it was called Guihuachang (桂花场). People's Digest describes it as a starting point for Buddhist pilgrims heading towards Mount Emei (峨眉山).
Sources for this guide
文化和旅游部数据服务栏目 · Ministry of Culture and Tourism
人民文摘 · People’s Digest
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-26.
Explore Shizhong District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Shizhong District
Leshan Giant Buddha · 乐山大佛Leshan Giant Buddha乐山大佛
The Leshan Giant Buddha is a monumental seated figure carved into a riverside cliff, best understood through both its scale and its relationship to the water below. The carving belongs to the Tang-period Buddhist landscape…
Read the place guide →
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非该地点实拍）Jiazhou Ancient City and Suji Ancient Town嘉州古城与苏稽古镇
This entry covers two adjoining historic areas in Shizhong District, Leshan: Jiazhou (嘉州), the old walled city that gives Leshan its historic name, entered through the Ming-dynasty Gongchen Gate, and Suji (苏稽), a market town founded in the Sui dynasty about 11.7 km from the Leshan Giant Buddha.
Read the place guide →Plan your visit
Getting there
Shizhong District covers the centre of Leshan. Search for 市中区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Leshan Giant Buddha and Jiazhou Ancient City and Suji Ancient Town are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Leshan →More in Leshan
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Leshan Giant Buddha · xiquinhosilva · CC BY 2.0. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
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Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.