Repairing the past, restoring our future

In addition to exquisite Buddha images and scriptures, characteristic of the country's grotto temples elsewhere, Dazu carvings highlight mundane scenes that urge people to be filial, conduct themselves properly and refrain from greed.

The carvings have also enjoyed a unique status for mixing Buddhism with indigenous beliefs like Confucianism and Taoism.

To date, more than 50,000 statues or carved images on the cliffs in the district have been put under protected cultural relic status, among which the most characteristic are the carvings in Beishan, Baoding, Nanshan, Shimen and Shizuan mountains.

Beishan boasts the largest rock carvings.

Wei Junjing, governor of Changzhou, was the initiator of the first carvings at the site in the late Tang Dynasty. More carvings were added under the auspices of officials, the gentry, scholars and monks. The cluster on its present scale was completed during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), consolidating the reputation of the statues for exquisite and elegant craftsmanship.

Archaeologists have proved that they showcased the development in the nation's folk Buddhist beliefs and stone carving art styles during the 9th to the 13th centuries.

Over the past decades, workers have tried to restore them to their original beauty.

Since mountains in the area have large quantities of sandstone, cracks have appeared due to geological movement, while the damp and hot southern climate results in underground water with natural chemicals, endangering the stone carvings and their carrier — the rock.

"You can see some crack lines and calcium precipitations have formed over parts of the cave walls," Jiang says.