China Guide
Sichuan and Chongqing
Dazu and around
About 200km east of Chengdu and 100km west of Chongqing, Dazu is the base for viewing some fifty thousand exquisite Buddhist cliff sculptures dating back to the Tang and Song dynasties, which are carved into caves and overhangs in the surrounding lush green hills. The two main sites are Bei Shan, just outside Dazu, and Baoding Shan, 16km to the northeast. What makes these sites so special is not their scale – they cover very small areas compared with more famous works at Datong, Luoyang and Dunhuang – but their quality, state of preservation, and variety of subject and style. Some are small, others huge, many are brightly painted and form comic-strip-like narratives, their characters portraying religious, moral and historical tales. While most are set fairly deeply into rockfaces or are protected by galleries, all can be viewed in natural light, and are connected by walkways and paths.