Dàzú

Dazu is renowned for the images carved into the hills around the county. Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian figures appear among its sculptures, reflecting the meeting of religious traditions in Sichuan over many centuries. On Mount Baoding, a great curved cliff bears elaborate reliefs depicting Buddhist teachings and scenes of human life, carved beside the Monastery of Holy Longevity.

Much of the work belongs to the Song period. The carvings at Shizhuanshan, made in the late eleventh century, place the three teachings together in an unusual arrangement. At Baodingshan, the major sculptures were created from the late twelfth to the middle of the thirteenth century. Their crowded compositions made religious stories visible to visitors in a landscape of temples and wooded hills.