The enormous 71-m high Great Buddha (Dafo) is carved into the red sandstone face of Lingyun Hill overlooking the treacherous confluence of the Min, Dadu, and Qingyi rivers below. In AD 713 a monk, Haitong, decided to safeguard passing boats by creating a protective icon in the cliffs - though he was also practical enough to realize that the resultant rubble would fill in the shoals. By the time Great Buddha was completed, other temples had been built around it and on the adjacent Wuyou Hill, and today a network of paths links this UNESCO World Heritage site.