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Dazu Rock Carvings
 In Dazu County, some 165 kilometers away from Chongqing , are more than 40 sites of stone carvings with over
50,000 statues of Buddha completed from the late Tang （618-907）to the Song
（960-1279）dynasty. It is said that more than a thousand years ago, Buddhist and
Taoist sects fiercely competed for ascendancy and imperial endorsement. As power
changed hands and religious orders came in and out of favor, the victors would
create new monuments to their gods and destroy the old ones. One result was that
significantly harder materials were employed to build religious monuments, and
the monuments got bigger. The monumental Dazu art testified to this
trend.
The general term of "Dazu Rock Carvings" refers to all the cliff-side carvings in
Beishan Mountain, Baoding Mountain, and so on.
It has been listed as a national relic under the state protection since
1961.In December 1999, it was listed as a world cultural heritage site by
UNESCO.
The grottoes on the Beishan Mountain and Baoding
Mountain are the largest in scale, richest in content and most refined in
artistic skill.
 Beishan Mountain
Construction began on the Beishan
Mountain in the late Tang Dynasty and lasted for more than 250 years, with some 300
niches containing some 10,000 statues of Buddha being carved. Although many of
the statues have deteriorated over the centuries, there are a few that still
remain in good conditions. Among the most notable is niche 136, which depicts a
saint riding a white elephant and the goddess of mercy, Guanyin. The cave
bearing the openwork octagonal "soul chariot" which symbolizes the eternal
turning of the wheel of Buddhist law is the most fantastic piece of work. Right
in the center of the cave is the statue of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism , which is flanked by more than
20 statues including the
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In Dazu County, some 165 kilometers away from Chongqing , are more than 40 sites of stone carvings with over
50,000 statues of Buddha completed from the late Tang （618-907）to the Song
（960-1279）dynasty. It is said that more than a thousand years ago, Buddhist and
Taoist sects fiercely competed for ascendancy and imperial endorsement. As power
changed hands and religious orders came in and out of favor, the victors would
create new monuments to their gods and destroy the old ones. One result was that
significantly harder materials were employed to build religious monuments, and
the monuments got bigger. The monumental Dazu art testified to this
trend.
