Longmen Cliff Cliffside Carvings

Longmen Cliff Cliffside Carvings

The Longmen Cliff Cliffside Carvings are a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Longmen Cliff Cliffside Carvings are located by the Yunzhou Reservoir in Yunzhou Township, Chicheng County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. To the north lies the Yunzhou Reservoir, and to the east is the Huguo Temple.

The Longmen Cliff Cliffside Carvings gather inscriptions from various dynasties, among which the most famous are the “Throat of Three Routes,” the “Shield of Shuofang,” and the statue of the Bodhisattva Who Sacrificed Herself.

Longmen Cliff, also known as the Sacrifice Cliff, is also called Heifengkou or Dugu Men.

Here, two peaks stand facing each other, with cliffs rising a thousand feet high. Viewed from afar, it looks as if a heavenly gate has slightly opened. At the bottom of the deep gorge below the cliff, waters from beyond the Great Wall converge here, flowing rapidly, and it is known as an impregnable natural barrier. The stone carving area on the eastern cliff face spans 2,000 square meters. Beside the Guanyin Pavilion carved into the eastern half of the cliff, the four characters “舍身大士” (Bodhisattva Who Sacrificed Herself) are inscribed horizontally, and below them is a relief sculpture of the Bodhisattva, 2.5 meters tall, depicting a serene-faced, radiant woman seated within a lotus basin. This woman was one of those who sacrificed themselves during the Tumu Crisis. The cliff walls are covered with excellent poems and writings. Currently, there are over 20 stone carvings from the Yuan and Ming dynasties, such as the “Throat of Three Routes,” “Majestically Standing by the Capital Region,” and the “Longmen Cliff Couplet.” Among them, the “Shield of Shuofang” inscribed by Sun Yuxian, an imperial censor of the Ming Dynasty, features characters each three meters square, spaced four meters apart, set against a backdrop of a hundred-foot precipice. With its majestic aura, it is considered one of the finest cliffside carvings beyond the Great Wall.

In July 1993, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Hebei Province.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units