Dazu Shizhuan Mountain in Chongqing

Dazu Shizhuan Mountain in Chongqing

Introduction 　Shizhuan Mountain is situated in Fohui Village, Sanchu Town, about 25 kilometers southwest of Longgang Town, Dazu County, at an altitude of 444.6 meters. According to the "Yan Xun Ji Bei" stele at Fohui Temple, the carvings were created between 1082 and 1096 during the Northern Song Dynasty, from the fifth year of Yuanfeng to the third year of Shaosheng. The carved cliff face is about 130 meters long and 3–8 meters high, and is collectively cataloged under 10 numbers. The key protected area of the Shizhuan Mountain cliff carvings covers 0.21 hectares, the general protected area spans 0.18 hectares, and the construction control zone extends over 2.47 hectares.

The Shizhuan Mountain cliff carvings are a rare example of a grotto site that uniquely combines Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian "Three Teachings" iconography. Among them, Cave No. 6 features Confucius and the Ten Disciples niche, with a seated statue of Confucius—the great Chinese philosopher and founder of Confucianism—on the main wall, and statues of his ten most renowned disciples on the side walls. Such representation is extremely rare among grotto carvings. Cave No. 7 is the Trikaya Buddha niche. Cave No. 8 is the Laozi niche, with a central seated statue of Laozi, the founder of Taoism in China, flanked by seven statues of immortals and monks on either side. According to the carving inscriptions, these three niches were all commissioned by the wealthy landowner Yan Xun and carved by renowned artisans of the time, including Wen Weijian.

On August 6, 1956, the People's Committee of Sichuan Province designated the Shizhuan Mountain cliff carvings as a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit. (It is now a Chongqing Municipal Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.)

On April 26, 1963, the People's Committee of Dazu County announced that the Thousand Buddha Cliff carvings were designated as a Dazu County Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Represented by the Laojun Cave, Shizhuan Mountain was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 1, 2000, together with Nanshan, Beishan, Baoding Mountain, and Shimen Mountain.

Dazu County, Chongqing