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Ancient Stone Carved Buddhist Sutras Site

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In 1984, an expedition team from the Altun Mountain Nature Reserve discovered over 2,000 pieces of stone-carved Buddhist sutras within a vast area of 120 square kilometers, covering the northern foothills of the Kuluk Pitikelitage Mountains and the southern part of the Qimantag Mountains. The astonishing number of these sutra stone slabs were mostly made from yellow sandstone and slate, with the exception of one location on the southern slope of the Qimantag Mountains, where harder granite was predominantly used as the material. Carving sutras into extremely hard granite would have been an extraordinarily difficult task without considerable skill and specialized tools. Most of the stone slabs feature inscriptions on both sides, with a preliminary estimate of over 500,000 characters in total—earning them the nickname “sky-written scriptures.” The carving techniques include both intaglio and relief, with varying font sizes and styles, suggesting they were the work of multiple artisans. The knife work is exquisitely meticulous—some inscriptions are neat and rigorous, others bold and unrestrained, some powerful and vigorous, and others delicate and smooth, all demonstrating remarkable craftsmanship. The largest collection is stacked in layers on a 6-meter-long granite base. These stone-carved Buddhist sutras were identified by scripture lecturers from Beijing’s Lama Temple and language experts from the Central University for Nationalities as the Buddhist “Six-Syllable Mantra.” Some inscriptions depict scenes of Padmasambhava, the founder of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, showing him holding a vajra in his right hand to subdue demons while ringing a ritual bell in his left during the preaching of sutras. Also known as Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava was an 8th-century Indian monk who was invited by Tibetan King Trisong Detsen between 742 and 797 AD to spread esoteric Buddhism in Tibet. Based on this, it is believed that these stone-carved sutras date back to the 8th–9th centuries. Concealed deep within the towering mountains, the many mysteries of these sutras—and the lesser-known history they embody—await further exploration.

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The Ancient Stone Carved Buddhist Sutras Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

In 1984, an expedition team from the Altun Mountain Nature Reserve discovered over 2,000 pieces of stone-carved Buddhist sutras within a vast area of 120 square kilometers, covering the northern foothills of the Kuluk Pitikelitage Mountains and the southern part of the Qimantag Mountains. The astonishing number of these sutra stone slabs were mostly made from yellow sandstone and slate, with the exception of one location on the southern slope of the Qimantag Mountains, where harder granite was predominantly used as the material. Carving sutras into extremely hard granite would have been an extraordinarily difficult task without considerable skill and specialized tools. Most of the stone slabs feature inscriptions on both sides, with a preliminary estimate of over 500,000 characters in total—earning them the nickname “sky-written scriptures.” The carving techniques include both intaglio and relief, with varying font sizes and styles, suggesting they were the work of multiple artisans. The knife work is exquisitely meticulous—some inscriptions are neat and rigorous, others bold and unrestrained, some powerful and vigorous, and others delicate and smooth, all demonstrating remarkable craftsmanship. The largest collection is stacked in layers on a 6-meter-long granite base. These stone-carved Buddhist sutras were identified by scripture lecturers from Beijing’s Lama Temple and language experts from the Central University for Nationalities as the Buddhist “Six-Syllable Mantra.” Some inscriptions depict scenes of Padmasambhava, the founder of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, showing him holding a vajra in his right hand to subdue demons while ringing a ritual bell in his left during the preaching of sutras. Also known as Guru Rinpoche, Padmasambhava was an 8th-century Indian monk who was invited by Tibetan King Trisong Detsen between 742 and 797 AD to spread esoteric Buddhism in Tibet. Based on this, it is believed that these stone-carved sutras date back to the 8th–9th centuries. Concealed deep within the towering mountains, the many mysteries of these sutras—and the lesser-known history they embody—await further exploration.