# Dazu Rock Carvings (大足石刻)

Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality · Southwest, China · Guidebook rating: 4/5
Canonical: https://cnatrip.com/en/places/dazu-rock-carvings
Language: en

## Key facts

- **Admission:** Baoding Mountain ¥115; Beishan ¥70; combined ticket ¥140
- **Opening hours:** 9：00—18：00
- **Time needed:** 4–5 hours
- **Address:** Baoding Town, Dazu District
- **Getting there:** Take a bus from Caiyuanba Bus Station or Longtou Temple Bus Station to Dazu District. From the bus station, take a local bus to Baoding (bus stop).
- **By car:** Take the Yurong Expressway, park at the foot of the mountain, then walk to the scenic area.
- **Good for:** History & Culture, Temples

## About Dazu Rock Carvings

Even if you have seen the Longmen Grottoes and walked through the Yungang Grottoes, the Dazu Rock Carvings, as a masterpiece of ancient Chinese stone carving, are not to be missed. This is why they are said to be “the Dunhuang of the North and the Dazu of the South.”
On 1 December 1999, UNESCO formally inscribed five cliff carving sites—Beishan, Baoding Mountain, Nanshan, Shizhuan Mountain and Shimen Mountain—on the World Heritage List.
Baoding Mountain is a sacred Buddhist site, and the saying goes, “Pilgrimage to Mount Emei above, pilgrimage to Baoding below.” Its stone carvings at the Great Buddha Bay are the largest in scale, the highest in artistic value, and the best preserved.
The carvings at Beishan are concentrated at Fowan (Buddha Bay), divided into southern and northern zones. The southern zone mainly features works from the late Tang and Five Dynasties, while the northern zone is dominated by works from the Northern and Southern Song dynasties.

## Tips from the guidebook

- Stone highlights: the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in the Xinshen Chariot Grotto at Beishan’s Fowan carvings is hailed as the “Venus of the East”; the Revolving Sutra Cave is known as a stone-carved palace; and the Wei Junjing Stele, the Cai Jing Stele and the Ancient Classic of Filial Piety Stele are unique survivors of great value.
- The Six Realms of Reincarnation in the Dazu Rock Carvings

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Source: China Self-Guided Travel 2025 (《中国自助游》, Tianjin Science & Technology Press, Aug 2024), p. 430. Prices, hours and transport details are as printed in the August 2024 edition and may have changed. Always confirm with the venue before you travel.
Site: China Trip (https://cnatrip.com) — independent China travel guide in 13 languages.