167km from downtown Chongqing, Dazu Rock Carvings, in Dazu District were built in the transitional period of Tang and Song dynasty, in a form called “Moya Carving”, which means to carve directly on the natural cliffs.

Thee carvings were carved to publicize and show respect to the God. Dazu is one of five large rock carving sites. With carvings on North, South, Baoding, Shizhuan and Shimen Mountains they have all been listed by the World Heritage Convention. The carvings on North and Baoding Mountains are most significant.

Those rock carvings have been well preserved and show characters of religious stories as well as people of different social levels, depicting everyday life. Learning something before your visit or hiring a guide might be useful.