Dazu, Chongqing, China
大足石刻 · Dàzú Shíkè
In the hills west of Chongqing, from the 9th century to the 13th, monks and donors had whole cliffs carved and painted with Buddhist scenes, but also with farmers, mothers, drunkards and herdsmen. The greatest group, at Baodingshan, is a horseshoe-shaped gorge lined with sculpture for half a kilometre, made to a single plan over seventy years.
Photo: Davidmcbride, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Dazu means "great sufficiency", and in the late Tang (618–907) and the Song this was a prosperous corner of Sichuan. In 892 a local general, Wei Junjing, began carving Buddhist niches on Beishan, the North Hill outside his fortified town, and for two and a half centuries families paid for more. At Beishan the sculpture is delicate and courtly: slender bodhisattvas in deep niches, carved by named masters.
In 1174 a monk named Zhao Zhifeng began something larger at Baodingshan, fifteen kilometres away: a complete teaching carved round a gorge, from the wheel of rebirth to the hells, the Pure Land and the Buddha's death, with captions for those who could read and vivid scenes for those who could not. More than 50,000 figures survive across the area, and five of the sites were listed together as a World Heritage Site in 1999.
Baodingshan and Beishan are sold separately or on a combined ticket; three smaller sites each cost about 30 yuan. Shuttle carts and the dome cinema are extra.
| Part | Ticket |
|---|---|
| Baodingshan | 110–115 yuan |
| Beishan | 58–70 yuan |
| Baodingshan and Beishan combined | 140 yuan (main season) |
| Nanshan, Shimenshan, Shizhuanshan | About 30 yuan each |
In a hall on the south side of the gorge, a golden Guanyin sits in front of a fan of hands that covers 88 square metres of rock, each hand with an eye in its palm and something in its grasp. Restorers working from 2008 to 2015 counted 830 hands and regilded them with gold leaf.
Then walk on to the Reclining Buddha, 31 metres long, shown only from the waist up, as if the rest of his body runs on into the mountain; and to the Parents' Kindness, ten scenes of a mother's life from pregnancy to old age, among the most human carvings in China.
"These are caves." Most of Dazu is carved on open cliffs and under overhangs, not in caves; the paint survives because the rock shelters it.
"It is all Buddhist." Some sites mix Buddhism with Taoism and Confucianism; at Shizhuanshan the founders of all three sit side by side.
We searched Chinese sources first for this list, then English ones.
Baodingshan is a one-way loop round the gorge of Dafowan, about 1.5 km; allow two hours. Beishan is in Dazu town, half an hour away.
A great wheel held in the jaws of a demon of impermanence, showing the six paths of rebirth; round its rim, small scenes show the causes of each fate.
Three figures seven metres high lean forward from the cliff; one holds a stone pagoda on his arm, carved so that the weight runs through his robe into the rock.
The golden fan of 830 hands, under its own roof.
The Buddha at the moment of his death, with disciples rising from the ground before him.
Ten scenes of parents' love, then the Western Paradise of Amitabha, with souls reborn in lotus buds.
Grim scenes of punishment, among them a drunkard who fails to know his own father; further on, herdsmen and their oxen stand for the steps of taming the mind.
On the hill above Dazu town, a long row of Tang and Song niches. Look for the Cave of the Revolving Sutra Repository, carved in 1142–1146, and for the graceful bodhisattva holding prayer beads.
In 1174, when Zhao Zhifeng began Baodingshan, Saladin took Damascus; the Leaning Tower of Pisa had been begun the year before.
| Year | Here | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 892 | Wei Junjing begins the carvings on Beishan | A great Viking army lands in Kent and fights Alfred the Great |
| 1174 | Zhao Zhifeng begins Baodingshan | Saladin takes Damascus |
| 1945 | Yang Jialuo's team makes the first scholarly survey | The Second World War ends |
| 1999 | Five sites are listed as a World Heritage Site | The euro is introduced |
| 2015 | Restoration of the Thousand-armed Guanyin is finished | The Paris climate agreement is signed |
One line to remember: a mountain gorge carved like a picture book of Buddhist teaching, with ordinary people on every page.
These are stories people tell about this place. They are legends, not history, and each one says where it comes from.
It used to be said that the Thousand-armed Guanyin's hands could never be counted: each counter lost track and got a different number. A monk is said to have done it at last by laying a sheet of gold leaf on each hand.
Source: Told by guides at Baodingshan
Later, people who live here will be able to add the stories they grew up with, and say which of these they have heard.
Last checked 2026-11-12. Prices and booking from 2026 Sina guides citing the scenic area; guides differ by season (Baodingshan 110–115 yuan, Beishan 58–70 yuan).
Checked 2026-11-12
Opening hours are given in the local time of the place. Prices are in the local currency. The figure after ≈ is approximate, at exchange rates checked on 9 November 2026, in .
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