Baoding Mountain of Dazu Rock Carvings Travel Guide

Baoding (Treasure Peak) Mountain, fifteen kilometers northeast of Dazu Town, is well-known for its various of more than ten thousand magnificent sculptures. Those located in Dafowan are best preserved and most numerous. Dafowan is a U-shaped range of hills about fifteen to thirty meters high and some five hundred meters long. The statue carved on the eastern, southern and northern cliffsides of the valley are patterned in accordance with the terrain of the hills, resulting in natural and magnificent structure. Consisted of more than 15,000 stone sculptures in 19 groups of the Buddhist stories, the statues in this grotto look so marvelous that each of them is portrayed in different pose and with a different expression.

The most outstanding of them are the "Thousand-Arm Goddess of Mercy" and the Sleeping Buddha. The former holds in her 1007 hands various objects such as Buddhist magic formulas, weapons of ancient times, musical instruments, jade ornaments, silk fabrics, production tools, and articles for daily use. Her arms and hands look exquisite and graceful in their myriad postures: raised or down, extended or withdrawn, relaxed or clenched etc. This fully shows the extraordinary talent and skill of ancient artists. The Sleeping Buddha is grand and imposing. Other attractions include Xiaofowan, Daota, Wansuilou, Shengshousi etc.

Features
The sculptures at Baoding Mountain are definitely more interesting than those at North Hill. It is believed the sculptures were completed over 70 years, between 1179 and 1249.