Plan your visit
- City Chongqing
- Area Dazu District
- Nearest Subway High-speed rail to Dazu South Station, then Taxi/Bus
- Vibe Culture, Scenic
- Crowded Moderate to High (Busier on weekends)
- Price 115 RMB / person (Baodingshan area)
- Suggested time 4h
About this place
An extraordinary series of cliffside religious carvings dating from the 9th to 13th centuries, blending Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian iconography — UNESCO World Heritage and the finest surviving example of late Chinese cave temple art. The centerpiece Thousand-Hand Guanyin at Baodingshan has 830 actual gilded hands carved across 88 square meters of cliff face.
Drifter says
"High-speed rail arrives at Dazu South Station — you will need a taxi or local bus to the actual site, about 40 to 50 minutes and 80 RMB. Plan this commute into your day. Focus entirely on Baodingshan — the 500-meter cliff face contains an unbroken narrative sequence of carvings with no two panels repeated. The Thousand-Hand Guanyin underwent an 8-year national restoration completed in 2015 and is currently in its best condition in centuries. Rent the English audio guide at the entrance. Give yourself at least 3 hours. If you want to avoid all crowds, take a 15-minute taxi to Beishan after — the carvings there are more intricate and almost nobody goes."
