The Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing Region, China

5KodoDrummer 5:00 PM Apr 23, 2021

Fascinating Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist carvings & sculptures
Many of the 50,000 statues and religious carvings date back to the seventh century Tang Dynasty. They are spread over about 75 sites. Most are very well perserved.

4Alex W 5:00 PM Dec 17, 2017

Amazingly good condition for something 800 years old, with details how to get there
Dazu has rock carvings at several spots. The main attraction is the cluster at Baodingshan which consists of a steep-sided valley. The Buddhist-inspired carvings are cut into the vertical rock faces, with several of them still brightly painted (after all these years!) It is not an easy place to get to as a day trip from Chongqing if you're travelling independently, but it can be done with an early start. (More details below) The very detailed Buddhist rock carvings are some 800 years old, and are mostly in great condition. Different sections have rather unique styles. I was particularly fascinated by the various modes of torture depicted in one section of carvings. An audio-guide is helpful if you wish to understand the significance of the panels. Don’t miss the related attraction: Shengshousi – a multi-pavilioned temple that is also several centuries old. It is only a short walk from the rock cliffs, on the way to the exit gate. Few visitors seem to venture there, so you are likely to have all the upper levels of the temple to yourself, and enjoy a moment of immense peacefulness with views of woodlands all around. To get from Chongqing to Dazu town, I took a bus from Caiyuanba bus station in Chongqing. There are two bus stations (and the old railway station) at Caiyuanba. One is called the ‘long-distance bus station’ and the other is simply ‘bus station’. Somewhat counter-intuitively, Dazu buses depart from the ‘bus station’, not the long-distance one, even though Dazu is roughly 100km away (in a straight line). According to the information board (see my photo below) the first bus to Dazu leaves this station at 7:20 pm, with regular departures every 40 minutes after that. The ticket cost 43 yuan. Important: you need to show your passport to buy a ticket. Another of my photos below explains how to read the ticket. The bus went directly to Dazu via a toll-highway, and took 1 hour 55 minutes. It ended at Dazu old bus station. From there, rather than waste time looking and waiting for local buses to Baodingshan, I jumped into a cab. She wouldn’t use the meter because she said she didn’t expect to be able to get any passenger coming back. So we negotiated a rate of 50 yuan for a 20-minute ride to Baodingshan. Entry to Baodingshan was 55 yuan. I spent two and a half hours at the rock carvings and Shengshousi Temple. There were taxis waiting at the exit gate, but I was lucky: the local bus was just arriving as I came out of the exit gate. That saved me some money going back to Dazu. Buses back to Chongqing from Dazu bus station are also quite regular.