The Dazu Grottoes

The statues of Buddhas at Baoding Mountain in Dazu, created during the Tang and Song Dynasties, are ranked as gems of sculpture art in China. With its mammoth scale, exquisite workmanship and rich cultural background, Dazu is listed as one of the four premier sites of stone sculpture in China together with Dunhuang, Yungang and Longmen.

Over 60,000 carved stone figures mainly pertaining to Buddhism are spread around 76 places within Dazu town, 160 kilometres to the west of Chongqing. The craftsmanship of grotto sculptures at Beishan and Baoding hills are considered among the best. This stone art of Dazu, which emerged in the late Tang Dynasty (618- 907AD) and flourished in the Song Dynasty (960-1127) represents an important chapter in China's cultural and religious history.

Beishan (or Gulonggang Hill) has 290 shrine caves and the most well-known is Xinshen Chen (the wheel of the Universe) Cave. In the center shrine stands Buddha with jingbabing Guanyin and Ruyizhu Guanyin figures. In the right shrine stands Samantabhadra, Riyue Guanyin and Suzhushou Guanyin. They are created in a symmetrical manner and proper order. The eight statues of Bodhisattvas have the features of well-proportioned bodies, exquisitely luxurious garments and distinct characters. Baoding Mountain(Treasure Peak), fifteen kilometers northeast of Dazu, is well-known for its collection of more than ten thousand magnificent sculptures. Those located in Dafowan are best preserved and more numerous. Dafowan is a U-shaped range of hills about fifteen to thirty meters high and some five hundred meters long. The statue carved on the eastern, southern and northern cliff sides of the valley are patterned in accordance with the terrain of the hills, resulting in a natural and grand structure. They are composed of more than 15,000 stone sculptures in 19 groups of Buddhist stories, the statues in this grotto look so amazing that each of them is portrayed in different poses and with different expressions. The Yuan Jue (Total Awakening) Grotto at the hilltop was created from a single rock and in the center of the cave stands three Buddhas.

Among the treasure of the Dazu stone sculptures is an ingenious group of nineteen grand scenes that cover a wide scope of artistic themes and most of them present Buddhist figures in human forms depicting scenes of everyday life. This style is rarely seen in any other part of the world.

The special cultural atmosphere encourages the folk sculpture art that flourishes in Dazu. As a result, in addition to a great variety of the artistic works, there has by an increase in related products, such as stone lion, stone ink slab and stone statues of Buddha that are quite fragile and colorful with great appeal for tourists.

The Town of Longshui in Dazu is the well-known "Home to the Manufacture of Metal Fittings", with an established specialized market. More than two thousand kinds of metal fittings are sold out to the other provinces as well as the overseas market.