Cliff Carvings and Sutra Engravings at Beishan Temple

Cliff Carvings and Sutra Engravings at Beishan Temple

The Cliff Carvings and Sutra Engravings at Beishan Temple are listed as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Sichuan Province.

The architecture of Beishan Temple is quite magnificent. Inside the hall, there is a large stone-carved Buddha hewn directly out of the mountain. This half-body statue has a head alone that is 4 meters high and 4.5 meters wide, and is flanked by the Eighteen Arhats. The cliff carvings on the rock face behind the hall are also extremely spectacular. Beishan Temple is located in Weicheng, a place with a long history—it was established as a county during the Western Wei Dynasty and belonged to Mianzhou in the Tang Dynasty, situated along the middle section of the Jinniu Ancient Path, an important route from Sichuan to the north. Consequently, since its establishment, Beishan Temple has been an important Buddhist holy site of its time. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, the imperial government allocated special funds for the maintenance of both Beishan Temple and the Tang Dynasty cliff carvings. The Qing Dynasty government also carried out renovations here. By the 1960s, in order to protect the cliff carvings from weathering, the Mianyang regional government specially allocated funds to build a shelter over the rock face.

In 1985, the cliff carvings at Beishan Temple were designated as a County-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Protected Area: The boundary extends 300 meters east to the junction between Beishan Yuzhu Village and Xianfeng Village, 300 meters south to Beishan Yulizui, 300 meters west to the foot of Beishan Mountain, and 300 meters north to the path in Jinhua Village.

Construction Control Zone: The protected area extends 150 meters east to the back mountain (boundary of Group 6, Yuzhu Village), 150 meters south to the old site of the forest farm, 150 meters west to the outer edge of the hillside at the base of Beishan Mountain, and 150 meters north to the boundary of Group 1, Jinhua Village.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units