We were fortunate to visit the Bao Ding Mountain Buddha's which form part of the Dazu Rock Carvings. The Dazu carvings consist of some 50,000 statues carved into the mountain faces at 75 separate sites. The site we visited is an easy day trip from Chongqing, China. The carvings were started around 650 AD during the Tang Dynasty and remain remarkably well preserved due to the overhanging rock which protects them from the elements.
Carvings aside, the surrounding mountains are lush with vegetation and beautiful unto themselves with terraced rice fields scattered throughout.
It is easy to appreciate the effort put into carving and painting statues. Some of the statues are life sized, but the majority are much larger. It appears that the carvings along the grotto walls go on and on and on in the photos below because they do. The Dazu carvings are a good example of how China's ancient treasures rival any other culture on earth in terms of their scale, grandeur and intricate detail.
The giant reclining Buddha is one of the notable attractions at the site.