Seven Caves Cliff Tomb Cluster

Seven Caves Cliff Tomb Cluster

The Seven Caves Cliff Tomb Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Han Dynasty cliff tombs of the Seven Caves Cliff Tomb Cluster are located on the red sandstone cliffs along the northern bank of the Minxi River in Baomin Village, Guhe Town, Changning County, totaling 28 tombs. Among them, seven are clustered closely together, built into a sheer cliff about 3 to 8 meters high. From a distance, their entrances resemble caves, hence the name “Seven Caves.” All the tombs have been damaged early on, with no burial objects remaining, but the tomb chamber structures, stone carvings, and inscriptions are well preserved.

The seven caves of the “Seven Caves” are arranged in four columns from top to bottom, all single-chambered with either arched or vaulted ceilings. The tombs are rectangular in floor plan, measuring 2.4 to 4.2 meters in length, 1.7 to 2.6 meters in width, and 1.3 to 2 meters in height. Three tombs contain double stone coffins carved into the walls, while two have a single coffin. The coffins are integrated with the chamber walls. The tomb entrances are square, with three layers of lintels that gradually decrease in size from the outside inward. The stone carvings in the tomb cluster are mainly distributed on the surrounding cliffs and are mostly incised in intaglio, while those on the chamber walls and stone coffins are all in relief. The motifs include Fuxi, Nüwa, guards, dancers, maidservants, chariots and horse processions, banquets, performances, gate towers, green dragons, white tigers, vermilion birds, coin-mold patterns, and more. There are seven inscriptions in total, divided into two categories: one includes dates such as “First Year of Xiping” and “First Year of Yanguang,” and the other lists surnames or family names such as “Li,” “Huang,” and “Zhao’s Gate.”

In 1991, the People's Government of Sichuan Province designated the Seven Caves Cliff Tomb Cluster as a cultural relics protection unit.

Protected area: North to Cliff Tomb No. 8, south to the small stream waterfall, upward 5 meters behind the mountaintop, and downward 5 meters in front of the mountain base of the Seven Caves Cliff Tomb Cluster.

Construction control zone: North extending 5 meters outward from Cliff Tomb No. 8, south extending 30 meters outward from the small stream waterfall, upward extending 15 meters backward from the mountaintop, and downward to the Mianxi River (also known as the Wutuo River).

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units