Sacred site · 892; 1179-1245

Dazu Rock Carvings

29.7439° N · 105.7223° E|Chongqing Municipality, China

These magnificent Buddhist sculptures were carved in stone cliffs around Dazu, Szechuan province, between 892 and 1245. They are a World Heritage Site for their importance to Buddhist art.

The Dazu Rock Carvings are a magnificent set of Buddhist sculptures carved in stone cliffs in Dazu, Szechuan province, China. They were designated a World Heritage Site in 1999.

What makes the Dazu carvings so special is not their scale — they cover small areas compared to those at Datong, Luoyang and Dunhuang — but their quality, state of preservation and variety of subjects and styles. Some sculptures are small, some are huge; many are brightly painted and tell religious, moral and historical stories.

UNESCO says of the Dazu carvings:

There are over 50,000 sculptures at Dazu, accompanied by over 100,000 Chinese characters of inscriptions and epigraphs. All the rock carvings can be viewed in natural light and are connected by walkways and paths. The two main sites are Bei Shan, just outside the town of Dazu, and Baoding Shan, 16km to the northeast.

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Location

Where on earth

29.7439° N · 105.7223° EChongqing Municipality, China

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