160KM west of downtown Chongqing
240KM east of downtown Chengdu
Built continuously from the first year of the reign of Emperor Yonghui of the Tang Dynasty (650) to the Qing Dynasty, Dazu Stone Carvings' Grottoes represent a beautiful gem in the grotto arts of China. Located in Dazu County, 81 km by expressway, west of the city proper of Chongqing, the stone carvings of Dazu, chiefly consisting of Buddhists images, are the art of religious nature. More than 50,000 figure statues are scattered over 75 spots. In 1999, it was listed as the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. All the Cliffside carvings, ingeniously conceived with a great originality, are well known for their variety in subject matter, richness in content, and their co-existence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Nevertheless, the stone carvings of Dazu Grottoes differ somewhat from the stone sculpture produced in the previous period. Emphasizing on both the law of aesthetic standards and the law of art form, the outstanding practice in Dazu was regarded as a good example to promote the advance of the grotto art from chiseling to Cliffside carving.
Sights Pictrue 
Comment
