Qionglai Grottoes

Qionglai Grottoes

Qionglai City, Sichuan Province is the most concentrated and largest distribution area of stone carvings in Chengdu. Its Buddhist stone carving art reflects the different styles of the middle and late Tang Dynasty, which can be said to carry the soul of the Tang Dynasty Buddha art. There are mainly cliff statues of shizhushan in Datong Township, Linqiong Town, pantuo temple and Huazhi temple. They have rigorous layout and vivid plot. They are rare in the cliff statues.

Main attractions

Beautiful statue

More than 50 exquisite statues have been standing for thousands of years

It is reported that there are more than 50 cliff statues in these three caves, all of which were first carved in the Tang Dynasty and have experienced more than 1000 years of wind and rain. Shizhushan cliff statue is located in jinggou village, Datong Township, with 33 niches. The cliff statues of pantuo temple are located in pantuo village, Linqiong Town, with 6 niches. Huazhi Temple cliff statue is located in Zhuxi Lake scenic area, Baishu village, Linqiong town. It was created and engraved by monk Ma CAI of Zhangjing temple in Shangjing by the former Chang'an emperor. There are 13 niches of the statue. According to the survey, they are the most concentrated, well preserved and largest scale existing cliff statues in Chengdu.

These caves, from the middle to the late Tang Dynasty, lasted for a long time, reflecting more Buddhist themes and rich contents. In particular, the statues of king of heaven and King Kong are muscular, the relief "flying sky" is elegant, the pagoda is clear and recognizable, the Buddhist figures are well proportioned, and the lines of clothing patterns and wreaths are smooth. Especially the Bodhisattva figure is graceful, charming and gentle, its essence and artistic charm. The Buddhist themes and architectural carvings in the existing niches, such as pavilions and pavilions, can reveal the superb technology and rich imagination of ancient architecture, and are artistic creations to reproduce the exquisite craftsmanship of ancient architecture.

Superb carving

Vivid Buddha statues, carving skills beyond imagination

Walking into the cliff of pantuo temple on a small hill, the first thing you see is a huge stone. Next to it, there is a niche of "one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas" with a height of 2.88 meters. Guanyin and dashizhi Bodhisattvas on the left and right of the main Buddha stand on the rosette respectively, with a crown on their head, a wreath on their body and silk on their body. A group of musicians (four people) on the front of xumizuo, under the seat of the main Buddha, play pipa, flute, tanban, panxiao and other musical instruments.

Climbing to the cliff behind the main hall of Ming Dynasty, there are three sitting statues of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas carved on the main wall of one niche. The three sitting statues are surrounded by Tang Dynasty architectural style castles in the air, pavilions and flyovers. People are walking on the stairs and bridges. People are chatting happily in the pavilions. Auspicious clouds are floating in the air. Sitting Buddha is carved in the clouds. Near the top of the sill, there are non drum self singing Qin, Xiao and elegant "flying sky". Through the mountains and rivers jungle, take a boat to the huazhisi cliff hiding in an island of Zhuxi lake. Here, the statue of Avalokitesvara with thousand hands and the thousand Buddha niche connected with the two niches are the most eye-catching. About 1600 small Buddha statues, all 25 cm high, are of various shapes and vivid, and their carving skills are superb and detailed beyond imagination.

Reasonable utilization

Rational use of precious heritage under the premise of protection

According to he Jiming, director of Qionglai cultural management office, in the past 10 years, they have dug drainage ditches and protected ridges for several cliff statues. In front of each niche are made to protect the iron railings, set up a full-time guard. However, due to wind and rain erosion, some of the statues were seriously weathered, and some of the Buddha's heads and arms were damaged. After upgrading to a national key cultural relics protection unit, they will, in accordance with relevant regulations, assist in the protection planning of cultural relics, and increase efforts in technology and manpower to protect cultural relics. We are coordinating with the relevant departments in Qionglai to expand the scope of protection around the cultural relics and prepare to install video monitoring facilities. At the same time, in the planning, they will consider the rational use of these cultural heritages on the basis of protection according to the idea of "creating an ecological and cultural Qionglai, creating a historical and cultural city", and show the precious and profound Buddhist carving art to the world in an appropriate way.

Address: Qionglai City, Sichuan Province

Longitude: 103.41508776932

Latitude: 30.438815100285

Chinese PinYin : Qiong Lai Shi Ku