Dazu Rock Carvings

Dazu Rock Carvings is the religious carvings of rock carved reproduction during the late Tang Dynasty and early Song Dynasty, giving priority to Buddhist themes. It is the art of Chinese later period grotto sculptures, which is featured with broad scale, exquisite art and abundant contents and enjoying the equal fame with Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Yungang Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes. In 1999, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Dazu Rock Carvings is located in Chongqing municipality, extending to Dazu County, Tongnan County, Tongliang County and Bishan County, which is the generic name of grotto art on cliff sculptures that mainly appear in Dazu County. There are over 70 rock carving sculptures in the rock carving group, totally over ten thousand bodies. The most famous are the rock carvings of Baoding Mountain and North Mountain Cliff, giving priority to Buddhist sculptures and equally laying out the Confucian and Taoist sculptures, which reflects the striving and blending complexion of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism over a long period in Chinese cultural history. Compared with the other early rock carvings, Dazu Rock Carvings is provided with real and gentle image and exquisite and smooth carving workmanship, so it is an important represent of Chinese rock carving art. The beautiful and giant sculpture groups are also accompanied with various kinds of rock carving posy of over 150,000 words such as lection, eulogy and history records and it is a magnificent cultural and artistic treasury.

Dazu Rock Carvings is in possession of vivid national traits and higher historic, scientific and artistic value and plays a leading role in the history of Chinese ancient grotto art. It is reputed as a supernatural oriental artistic pearl at home and abroad and is a treasury of the world cultural heritage with unique characteristics.