China: Dazu Rock Carvings 大足石刻
Picture of Transmigration in Six Ways 六道轮回
After setting our stuff at Nanbin Youth Hostel in Chongqing Municipality, we didn’t want to waste time that afternoon so we headed to Caiyuan Ba bus station to get tickets to Dazu County 大足县 and visit one of the most important Cultural Heritage Sites in China, the Dazu Rock Carvings 大足石刻, which is also included in China’s numerous list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Riding to Baodingshan
From the Bus station you have to tell the cashier clearly where you are going. They have this sheet of paper with Chinese Characters so you could point the right destination because the word Dazu, pronounced as Ta-Zu has a similar sounding name of another place. The bus fare going to Dazu County is RMB 48.
Souvenir Stalls on the way to the Carvings
We realized we hadn’t had lunch yet so we grabbed a quick meal at one of the stalls there. For RMB 8, you can grab those rice meals with different toppings of viands. It was actually delicious. We ate near our bus as fast as we can since the bus was gonna leave in a few minutes. Then the driver approached us and motioned towards the bus. I looked back at the other passengers who seemed to be impatiently waiting for us while we munched on our food. It seems we were holding the bus out. So we threw what’s left and got in.
Baodingshan Pagoda
The bus ride to Dazu County, which is 167km form Chongqing, took around 2 hours. The bus station there looks old that it reminds me of the Dangwa Bus station in Baguio going to Sagada. We asked first when will the last bus leave and said it was around 6 pm. This is also where I had my initial culture shock on the men’s toilet. Getting out there we looked for a transpo going to Baodingshan. We eventually found a multi-cab like tryke which will take us there for RMB 50 round trip for the ride. Seems reasonable, at least we secured our transport going back to the town proper.
Dazu Cliffside Carvings
Baodingshan is one of the numerous ancient rock carving sites in Dazu County and is considered as one of the most preserved among the lot. Baodingshan is really a mountain, Mount Baoding. “Shan” is a Chinese suffix which also means Mountain, so Mt Baoding is the same as Baodingshan. So from here on, any mountain I mention I’ll just use Shan in the end.
Niche of Guardians of Buddhist Law
It was a rainy afternoon when we rode to Baodingshan. It took only around 20-30 minutes to get to the site. From there you’ll pass by an old village and also a line of souvenir stalls before you reach the area where you’ll ride on this multi passenger cab for RMB 1 to take you to the entrance gates. The park entrance fee for Baodingshan site is RMB 80. If you wish to visit the other sites you will have to pay more.
Dazu Rocks Bodhisattva
Passing by the entrance gates you’ll walk through the steep steps going down a U-shaped enclosure of cliffs. And from those cliffs you’ll be able to see these Ancient Rock Carvings. The Dazu Rock Carvings was inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage List last 1999. Quoting their brief description:
“The steep hillsides of the Dazu area contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th to the 13th century. They are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.”
Dazu Clif Wall Details
Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. And for a a stone art dating back as 9th Century, I am pretty impressed that most of these are still well preserved.
Reclining Buddha
At that time, we only have a few hours to inspect the carvings and we were shooting away like crazy. But if I find a carving really interesting I try to stop a little and read on the description. Most of the carvings here are their expression to Buddhism. I just can’t help but admire the details of each carvings, the intricacy on the patterns and the colors used as well.
Tour Groups viewing the rock carvings
The whole U-shaped hill is like a giant picture book of stories. Each section from right to left is a depiction from Chinese text carved on the walls. Some depicted their daily life, their spirituality and also their leaders. Aside from the cliff carvings, there is also a cave there with more statues and carvings but photography isn’t allowed in that area. Better watch out, there are security cameras everywhere.
A Story from the Scripture on the Kindness of Parents 父母恩重经变像
At that time, since it was already late in the afternoon, there weren’t too many tour groups in the area so we were able to enjoy these carvings more. If one is in the Chongqing Municipal, a visit to Dazu Rock Carvings is highly recommended as I am equally impressed with the rich details put into these ancient artworks.
More Dazu Rock Carvings
After an hour of touring, we headed back to the entrance gate and went back to the city.
Tags: China, Chongqing, Culture, Dazu County, Heritage, Religion, Rock Carvings, UNESCO, 大足石刻
Posted on
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 4:19 pm 
Subscribe through 
April 9th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Astonishing sights and amazing intricacies. Makes me wonder I never known of them except now. They’re gems of the classic kind.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:16 am
this is an amazing trip ferdz. how did you manage to find this destination? this is just right up my alley . i am very interested in this one. and to top it all off it’s a rainy day when you got there and i love walking in the rain. really really like this trip!
April 10th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Amazing sculptures…
I remember I never had to ask where I could find the CR… I could just smell it from afar!
April 10th, 2008 at 8:53 am
highly recommended nga. i’m also impressed. galing ng mga natives nila.
to think that these are actually part of the mountain’s rocky part.
Ferdz, what is the temperature range in this area? malamig ba?
Tsaka gaano kataas kaya ang Dazu county (from sea level)?
April 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am
The carvings are very intricate. I learnt about the scriptures and these carvings when I was a young child; pero the one my grandmother was telling me stories of was in Singapore.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:53 am
The carvings had shown that man literally are gifted to create something that makes awe to the world..
I really wish to see these kinds of carvings somehow soon….nice adventure Ferdz.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:50 am
amazing sculptures indeed. naku, i’d go crazy macro-shooting kung ganyan kaganda ang site.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
amazing ferdz, feels like i am watching national geographic. ang galing.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I luv your site.. Pinoy budget travel in Asia. Keep posting!
April 10th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
@ Major Tom: Truly a gem of its kind. I too never knew of them before.
@ Photocache: Glad you liked it!
@ Sidney: Haha! Just follow the scent eh…
@ Dong Ho: Yeah it’s cold. If I’m not mistaken, temperature is about 16-20 degree celsius. I actually forgot to make a GPS reading there, but I’m guessing it’s only about 400-500 meters.
@ Kyels: Indeed they are. It’s like a giant picture book really.
@ Eric: Yes, I guess divine inspiration brings out the artist in all of us.
@ Lagal[og]: Haha! Yeah. There’s a lot of details you could shoot on.
@ Lawstude: Thanks! I’m a fan of that show.
@ Ms M: Thank you for the visit. There’s more materials up ahead.
April 11th, 2008 at 4:41 am
These are really amazing! I wonder why they dont get as much attention as the terracotta warriors…
April 11th, 2008 at 8:46 am
this site is really impressive. really exquisite and ancient carvings!
April 11th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
napakayaman talaga ng Tsina sa kultura. ang ganda ng mga carvings! wah, gusto ko din pumunta dito. ang maganda may kulay siya hindi tulad sa usual stone arts na kulay putik or semento lang.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
it was amazing just looking at the details of each rock carvings. i think saying that it was made out of blood and sweat is an understatement. and how they preserved it!
April 11th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Wow, sobrang galing! The Chinese are so good! How could they have carved such beauty from the mountain?
April 12th, 2008 at 11:53 am
the intricate details of these sculptures are almost unbelievable! i could imagine the amount of hard work the artists poured into this. ang galing!
thank you again ferdz for bringing us to the China that not many of us know of.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:30 am
@ Gypsy: I guess the terracotta warriors has a much dramatic history attached to it. And it’s more accessible from Beijing
@ Estan: Yes, they ruly are for their time.
@ Rayts: For a large country as theirs, I’m sure napakalawak ng culture nila. Natuwa rin ako kasi me paints. Cguro mas maganda pa sya nung una siyang ginawa.
@ Zherwin: Amazing indeed
@ Toe: Galing talaga nila. Not only carving it but in a way they make sure it’s also protected from the elements
@ Barrycade: Always a pleasure. It’s a breath of fresh air seeing something new once in a while. It broadens ones perspective on how we see the world.