Chongqing Dazu Rock Carvings and Longshui Lake Two-Day Tour

From Chongqing, take the Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway directly to the lower road of Youting (30 kilometers from Youting to Dazu), go straight along the Dayou Highway, and go directly to Longshui Lake Scenic Area after arriving in Longshui. There is no entrance fee for Longshui Lake. You can take a sightseeing boat in the lake to explore the lake and mountains. After visiting Longshui Lake, return to Dayou Highway and drive directly in the direction of Dazu. After arriving in Dazu, you can choose to rest for one night before visiting the Dazu Rock Carvings. The main attractions of Dazu Rock Carvings are Beishan Rock Carvings and Baoding Mountain Rock Carvings. Beishan is in the county seat, and Baoding is only more than 10 kilometers away from Dazu, so it is very convenient to get to the above two scenic spots. Of course, if you want to fully appreciate the Dazu Rock Carvings, you can also go to Nanshan Rock Carvings, Shimenshan Rock Carvings and Shizhuanshan Rock Carvings. To give you some information about the Dazu Rock Carvings:

The Dazu Rock Carvings are located in Dazu District, Chongqing. It is the general name for the grotto art that is mainly represented by cliff statues. Among them, there are five places listed in the World Heritage List by UNESCO, namely Beishan Stone Carvings, Baoding Mountain Stone Carvings, Nanshan Stone Carvings, Shizhuan Mountain Stone Carvings and Shimen Mountain Stone Carvings.

The Beishan Stone Carvings are located on Beishan Mountain 1.5 kilometers north of the county. The statues were first excavated in the first year of Jingfu in the late Tang Dynasty (AD 892). With Dafo Bay as the center, it covers the surrounding Guanyin Slope, Yingpan Slope, The fifth place is Fo'er Rock and Beita Temple. More than 500 meters long. The rock is about 7 meters high and there are statues along the cliff. From south to north it is shaped like a crescent moon, and the niches are like honeycombs. There are more than 5,000 statues. The statues are delicate and exquisite, and the craftsmanship is skillful and ingenious. They are known as the "Exhibition Hall of Chinese Guanyin Statues".

The Baoding Mountain Stone Carvings are located 15 kilometers northeast of Dazu District. They were first carved in the Southern Song Dynasty, with Dafo Bay as the center. Dafo Bay is horseshoe-shaped, more than 500 meters long, and the rock height is 15 to 30 meters. There are more than 30 giant sculptures, the famous ones include Six Paths of Reincarnation, Three Saints of Huayan, Thousand-Armed Avalokitesvara, Parents' Gratitude Sutra, Great Convenience Buddha Repaying Kindness Sutra, Liu Benzun Dojo, Yuanjue Dojo, Mu Niu Dojo, etc. Among them, the Song Dynasty The carvings are the most distinctive, well-preserved, and very interesting and story-telling. In each work, most of them are engraved with scriptures, verses and eulogies, just like a comic strip with pictures and texts. Most of the sculptures in Dafo Bay are Tantric statues. Most of the sculptures have a strong flavor of real life and a unique flavor of Shu countryside. They are one of the representative works of grotto statues in the Song Dynasty.

The Nanshan Cliff Statue is named after Nanshan, which is located 2 kilometers south of Dazu City. It was excavated from 1131 to 1162 AD (the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty), and was slightly added during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is a pure Taoist statue with exquisite carvings, plump shapes and mostly painted surfaces. It is the one with the most statues, the most concentrated and the most complete reflection of the divine system among the existing Taoist grottoes in China.

The Shizhuan Mountain Stone Carvings are located on Shizhuan Mountain in Fohui Village, Sanqi Town, 25 kilometers southwest of Dazu District. There is a temple on the mountain called Fohui Temple. There are grottoes outside the temple, which are hidden stone carving areas. They are concentrated in Fowan (Mother and Son Hall) and Thousand Buddha Rock areas. They are a group of sculptures from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, with about four to five thousand bodies. The statues here are huge in scale, like a pearl buried deeply in the soil, reflecting an undiscovered history.

The Shimenshan Stone Carvings are located in Xinsheng Village, Shima Town, 20 kilometers east of Dazu District. They were excavated from 1094 to 1151 AD (the 21st year from Shaosheng in the Northern Song Dynasty to Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty). The total length of the cliff face with carved statues is 71.8 meters, and the cliff height is 3.4 to 5 meters. It is generally numbered No. 16 and contains 12 niches for statues. The cliff statues in Shimen Mountain are a statue area that combines Buddhism and Taoism, with Taoist statues being the most distinctive. The statues of immortals, Buddhists, or ghosts and gods live in one area. They are all exquisite, uncanny workmanship, and exquisite.