Thousand Buddha Cliff

Thousand Buddha Cliff

Thousand Buddha Cliff, commonly known as Stone Buddha Cliff and also called Buddha Gorge, is located west of Guozhuang Village, about five or six kilometers south of Huozhou City. It borders the Fen River to the west and stands against the Dayun Highway, covering an area of approximately 600 square meters. The cliff carvings at Thousand Buddha Cliff were meticulously crafted through the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, featuring over 1,000 Buddha statues of various sizes.

Observing the existing stone carvings, the exposed carved surface extends approximately 15 meters from north to south and about 8 meters in height. It stretches about 20 meters to the south. Due to earthquakes and the construction of railways and highways, the carvings have suffered varying degrees of damage—the head of the large Buddha has been cracked by seismic activity, and parts of its arms are broken. According to on-site investigations, about 7 meters of additional cliff carvings remain buried under approximately 8 meters of accumulated earth, awaiting further excavation and preservation.

Among the Buddha statues, the largest stands 8 meters tall and was carved during the Tang Dynasty’s Changqing era, serving as the main figure among the Thousand Buddha Cliff carvings. There is also a 2-meter-tall Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin statue. The smaller Buddha figures are mostly arranged in groups of three within a single niche (one Buddha with two Bodhisattvas or one Buddha with two disciples), though some niches contain a single Buddha. Within just 120 square meters, 65 stone Buddha statues are preserved. Carved inscriptions include dates such as “the second year of the Changqing era of the Tang Dynasty” and “the fifth year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty,” indicating that cliff carvings were created continuously from the Tang through the Ming dynasties.

In 1993, the Huozhou Cultural Relics Management Office raised funds from multiple sources to carry out partial conservation and restoration of the Thousand Buddha Cliff carvings. The original canopy atop the main carved section was restored, featuring a hanging mountain-style roof covered with glazed tiles. Partial surrounding walls and some stone steps on both sides of the canopy were also reconstructed.

The Thousand Buddha Cliff carvings are a masterpiece of precious ancient culture and art. In 1996, they were designated as a municipal-level key cultural relics protection unit by the Huozhou Municipal People’s Government.