Thousand Buddha Cliff Rock Carvings in Guangyuan

Thousand Buddha Cliff Rock Carvings in Guangyuan

The Thousand Buddha Cliff rock carvings is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

The Thousand Buddha Cliff rock carvings are located on the eastern bank of the Jialing River, about 4 kilometers north of Guangyuan City in Sichuan Province.

The Thousand Buddha Cliff carvings constitute the most grandiose grotto complex in Sichuan. On a cliff face around 420 meters long and 40 meters high, niches are densely arranged, layered and stacked up to as many as 13 levels. According to a stone tablet erected in the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1854), there were over seventeen thousand Buddha statues carved into the entire cliff face. However, when the Sichuan-Shaanxi Highway was constructed in 1935, part of the cliff was blasted away to make way for the road, and more than half of the carvings were destroyed. Currently, there are over four hundred remaining niches of various sizes, housing more than seven thousand Buddha statues. According to statistics from the Guangyuan County Annals, there are twenty-seven Tang Dynasty inscriptions, five from the Five Dynasties, twenty-six from the Song Dynasty, twenty-six from the Yuan Dynasty, eight from the Ming Dynasty, forty-one undated ones, plus over one hundred stone inscriptions and cliff engravings from various dynasties including Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing.

The Thousand Buddha Cliff carvings center around the Dayun Cave and are divided into southern and northern sections. Noteworthy caves in the southern section include the Great Buddha Cave, Lotus Cave, Muni Cave, Thousand Buddha Cave, Sleeping Buddha Niche, Treasure Buddha Cave, and Cintamani Wheel Avalokiteshvara; the northern section features famous sites such as the Three Ages Buddha Cave, Carefree Flower Tree Buddha, Maitreya Buddha Cave, Trikaya Buddha Niche, Bodhi Image Cave, Lushena Buddha Niche, and the Qing Dynasty-period Tibetan Buddha Cave. These sites bring together stone carvings from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Tang, Song, and Qing dynasties, all exquisitely carved with elegant designs and unique artistic styles.

The Dayun Cave, situated at the heart of Thousand Buddha Cliff, measures 3.8 meters in height, 3.6 meters in width, and 10.6 meters in depth. At the center of the cave stands a standing statue of Maitreya Buddha, broad-shouldered and plump, with a round face, curved brows, an exposed belly, and a serene smiling expression, radiating calm and contentment. Behind the statue is a cone-shaped stone wall, flanked by numerous small niches and neatly arranged Bodhisattva images. The left and right walls feature two deep niches, each housing seven statues: one Buddha, two disciples, two Bodhisattvas, and two guardian warriors. The north and south walls are carved using semi-relief techniques, featuring 148 statues of Avalokiteshvara, all adorned with ornate crowns and garments, standing atop clouds and lotuses, projecting an extraordinary presence.

The statues in the Great Buddha Cave and the Three Saints Niche have delicate features—slender eyes, thin lips, and straight-folded Buddhist robes with soft and thin textures created through recessed-line carving. The attendants have protruding foreheads, high noses, deeply set nasolabial folds, and serene expressions. Their heads bear tall tufts of hair, with streamers hanging from their ears, and their shawls crossing over their bellies. Judging by the lotus pedestal, shrine, and dragon-arched brows, these works differ in style from other niches and are believed to be creations from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. In the Three Saints Niche to the right of the Dayun Cave, there is an inscription dating to the first year of the Tiancheng era of the Liang Dynasty during the Southern Dynasties (555 AD). The middle three niches in this cave house statues with primitive facial features and elegant attire, similar to those in the Great Buddha Cave, and are considered among the earliest carvings at Thousand Buddha Cliff.

The Lotus Cave gets its name from a lotus flower with a diameter of 1.2 meters at the center of its ceiling. The peonies surrounding the lotus were painted during the Song Dynasty, and the lotus seedpod is depicted as the Taoist “Bagua Taiji Diagram.” The cave’s east, north, and south walls each feature a large niche, containing one Buddha flanked by two attendants. The Buddha has a square face, broad shoulders, wears a round-neck robe, an overcoat, and outer kasaya, with the right shoulder exposed, and a peach-shaped halo behind. In the spaces between the three main niches, 96 smaller niches house 130 statues including the Buddha, arhats, and Avalokiteshvara. In the Sleeping Buddha Niche, Sakyamuni lies on his side, serene in expression. The disciples behind him display various postures and emotions—some beat their chests, while others weep and sob. At either end stand a Bodhisattva, leaning against twin sal trees, each tree trunk entwined with a dragon. On the cave’s northern wall are relief carvings depicting two episodes of the Buddha’s “Golden coffin”—a key scene. This niche is a masterpiece of Tang Dynasty stone carvings.

Thousand Buddha Cliff also contains many small niches, intricately carved with vividly lifelike figures—musicians in foreign attire, flying apsaras dancing to music, humans with wings, warriors in armor, along with various birds, beasts, and mythological stories. The rich content makes it a treasure trove for studying ancient Chinese grotto art.

In March 1961, the Thousand Buddha Cliff rock carvings in Guangyuan were designated by the State Council as part of the first group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

1. Thousand Buddha Cliff Rock Carvings in Guangyuan

Protected area: Starting from the central zone of the Thousand Buddha Cliff rock carvings, the boundary extends 150 meters east beyond the rock face, reaches Yidi Bay to the south, the edge of the Jialing River to the west, and expands 200 meters north from the core protected area.

Construction control zone: Starting from the central zone of the Thousand Buddha Cliff rock carvings, the boundary extends to the East TV Tower east of the rock face, 100 meters south of Yidi Bay, the riverbank on the western side of the Jialing River to the west, and to the gas station to the north.

2. Guanyin Rock Grottoes (Lizhou District)

Protected area: 80 meters east of the grotto marking sign; the Jialing River riverbank to the south; 160 meters east of the watchhouse to the west; 20 meters beyond the cliff face edge to the north.

Construction control zone: 30 meters east, south, and north beyond the protected area; 600 meters west beyond the protected area.

Address: Thousand Buddha Cliff Scenic Area, eastern bank of the Jialing River, Lizhou District, Guangyuan City

Type: Cave heritage site

Recommended visiting time: 3–4 hours

Telephone: 0839-3231480; 0839-3290080

Opening hours:

9:00-17:30

Further reading:

· First batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level