Dazu Rock Carvings 大足石刻

About Dazu Rock Carvings

At Baodingshan, a long sequence of reliefs follows a curved valley; Beishan provides another major concentration of carved niches and figures. The appeal lies in the changing subjects and the way the sculpture uses the rock face. Choose one main site first, adding a second only with a planned road transfer.

Carving began in the Tang dynasty in 650 AD, continued through the late Tang and Five Dynasties period, and reached its height in the Song dynasty, with further additions in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Baodingshan (宝顶山) carvings, northeast of Dazu, were begun in 1179, in the Southern Song Chunxi era (淳熙), by the monk Zhao Zhifeng (赵智凤), and took more than 70 years to complete. The Beishan (北山) carvings, north of Dazu, were begun in the late Tang Jingfu era (景福), in 892 and were not finished until 1146, a process spanning more than 250 years.

At Beishan, the southern section consists mostly of late Tang and Five Dynasties work, while the northern section is largely from the Song dynasty. More than 4,600 carved images survive, and the site contains 264 niches and caves. At Baodingshan, the carvings are centred on Dafowan (大佛湾), one of thirteen sites in the group. Baodingshan and Beishan were each listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 1961. The wider Dazu carvings were closed to visitors for many years, opening to Chinese travellers in 1961 and foreign visitors in 1980.

What to look for

• Baodingshan’s valley walls carry large narrative reliefs and religious figures.
• Beishan offers a separate concentration of sculpted niches for comparison.

Location & getting there

Getting to Dazu Rock Carvings

For Baodingshan, arrive at the Dazu Rock Carvings Visitor Centre and use its managed uphill visitor transport. The institute’s route then leads through the museum towards Dafowan. Beishan is a separate site requiring its own arrival plan.