It is overland tour to Mt. Wudangshan in Hubei province from Xian. Hubei province is located in mid China connecting many provinces in China by convenient transportation of railway, cruise, and flights......
Anyue Stone Carving
Anyue County in Sichuan Province, 40 kilometers away from Dazu, is also famous
for its stone carving art. Anyue stone carvings began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and flourished in the Tang, Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty. There are mainly Buddhist statues and Taoist statues. There are more than 500 ancient stone carvings and more than 100,000 statues. Anyue stone carvings inherit and continue the ancient artistic tradition of cliff statues and carry them forward. It has round carving, tower carving, wall carving, tablet carving and other technical forms, fine carving, skilled knife method, ingenuity, vivid characters and full of interest. The Purple Bamboo Guanyin of Mingshan Temple shows its extremely high artistic value.
Anyue is the county with the most concentrated sites of ancient Buddhist statues in ancient China. It has been found 368 grottoes and more than 100,000 statues, especially the magnificent statues of the Tang Dynasty and the exquisite statues of the Two Song Dynasty. It played the role of succeeding the Longmen Grotto and leading the Dazu stone carvings . In 2000 A.D, Anyue stone carvings were awarded the title of "The Hometown of Chinese Stone Carvings" by China National Ministry of Culture. The Anyue Grottoes have been listed in the reserve list of world Cultural heritage sites.
Main distribution points of Anyue Grottoes:
Wofoyuan Sleeping Buddha Courtyard Temple
Wofoyuan is located in Wofo Village, Wofo Town, Anyue County. It was enlisted in the third group of national key cultural relics protection units in January 1988 by the State Council. The statue is located in a long and narrow mountain valley, where the statue built a magnificent scale in the Tang Dynasty. It was gradually abandoned and unknown to the outside world, therefore the grottoes were kept intact to the out world. It was not rediscovered until the cultural relics survey in 1982.
On the 1 km long gully and about 20 meters high on both sides, there are 1613 cliff statues of stone grottoes, inscriptions, scriptures, buildings, and different animal images, etc in Tang Dynasty. Sleeping Buddha courtyard with "Sakyamuni nirvana holy trace map" is the most spectacular here. The giant Sakyamuni lying on his left body on the cliff, 21.3 meters long, 3 meters long, 3.1 meters wide shoulder width, back north south, head and east feet west. His hands opened flat, closed eyes like sleep. And his head full of screw bun, earlobe each wear a round blooming flower earrings. Also his head is padding flat lotus pillow, and body is slender body, wearing cassock, curved eyebrow rich, kind and dignified. Behind the head of the sleeping Buddha, on the wall was carved half body guard who was naked upper body, and his left hand clenched fist,eye opened ring. And a disciple is sitting around Buddha’s waist, feet naked stand a force, mighty and vigorous.
Between the cliffs opposite the sleeping Buddha, there are dense tang Dynasty cliff statue niches. There are 55 sutras niches dug on the two cliffs of about 800 meters long,
Qianfozhai Village
Qianfozhai Village meaning village with thousands of Buddha, is located in the western suburb of the Anyue county 3 kilometers on Dayun Mountain. Since the Tang Dynasty, it was named after the natural rock village carved around the top of the mountain. The village is in a narrow shape. There are 105 grottoes and 3064 statues on the two rock walls, 7 cliff stupas, 3 Tang tablets and 26 inscriptions in the past dynasties. The floating map is 4.6 meters and the minimum is 20 cm. The largest niche is 6.4 meters wide, 6 meters high and 3.3 meters deep. Cliff statue 3-6 meters high 14, 1-2 meters 250. The largest statue of Sakyamuni is 6.2 meters high, and the other many bodhisattvas, arhat, shrine, lux, Feitian, law god, donors and various classics "story statues, fully showing the pain and joy of" heaven, earth and hell ". Qianfozhai Village is the earliest and considerable grottoes in the Anyue Grottoes. Tang Dynasty pharmacist transformation statues are rare in China, and male Feitian dressed in woman is the only one in China.
Yuanjue Cave
Yuanjue Cave is located on Yunju Mountain in the southern suburb of Anyue County. Yuanjue Cave grottoes are concentrated in the south and north of the west hill cliff, the statue area is 186 meters long, and there are 103 cliff grottoes, 1933 statues, 25 inscriptions and 1 floating map in the Tang Dynasty. Because of the Song Dynasty 12 Yuanyue statues, hence the name. It was excavated in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, passed through the former Shu and the Later Shu, and then it reached the peak of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was completed for more than 400 years.
The "three Western sages" Amitabha Buddha, General Weishi Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, 7 meters high, were all the works of the Northern Song Dynasty with exquisite shape. After the mountain, there are more than 80 niches of Tang and Five dynasties 1000 years ago, and more than 1000 statues of Buddha. Yuanjue Cave is located between Amitabha Buddha and Aquarius Guanyin. The cave is 10 meters deep, 4.5 meters high and 4.4 meters wide. On the Buddha platform is the main wall of the cave. The head of the Buddha in the cave was damaged in 20th century, therefore the head of the Buddha in the cave is re-carved in the 1980s.
The Song Dynasty stone carvings on the left and right walls of the three niches are well painted. With the ribbon flying in the wind, they create the artistic conception of "light and slow, the sky flying, and the wind moving on the wall", which is a wonderful product of the Song Dynasty.
Pilu Cave
Pilu Cave is located in the Jue Mountain of Youping, Shiyang Town, 50 kilometers southeast of Anyue County. There are 20 niches (including 6 empty niches), 465 statues of all sizes and 18 inscriptions, created in the early Song Dynasty. Statues are concentrated in Pilu Cave, secluded Cave, Thousand Buddha Cave and Guanyin Hall. It is one of the main statue areas of Sichuan Buddhism during the Northern Song Dynasty. The main contents of the statues are: the ten statues of Liuben Zun, the three statues of Liubenzun, the Changes of Guanyin, the three sages of Huayan, the main statues of merit, the three emperors, etc. The statue of Guanyin (commonly known as purple bamboo Guanyin or water and moon Guanyin) in the No.19 Guanyin Sutra change cave is an outstanding representative of the Song Dynasty statues in China, which is hailed as the "god of Oriental beauty". The theme content has rich local characteristics, and the highlight could be attributed to no. 8 Liu Benzun ten refining caves which displayed the performance of "Sichuan Tantra" ancestor theme .
Huayan Cave
Huayan Cave is located in the Xianggai mountain of Shiyang town, and it has two caves of Huayan cave and big Prajna cave. There are 159 statues of Song Dynasty, and 24 inscriptions in many dynasties. Huayan Cave is the largest cave in the grottoes in Anyue County. The statues are magnificent, exquisite and well preserved, which can be called the god of stone carving art in the Northern Song Dynasty. Huayan cave carved Huayan Three Saints and ten Bodhisattva, good wealth children 53 ginseng, around the mouth of the cave for the Ming Dynasty supplementary Guanyin, Morri zhi heaven. The Great Prajna Cave is a statue mixed with the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there are Confucius, Laozi, Shijia, Manjusri, Bodhisattva, Eighteen Arhats, and Twenty Heaven.
Mingshan Temple
Mingshan Temple is in the top of Hutou Mountain 64 kms southeast of Anyue city. Its statue are mainly carved in the Northern Song Dynasty, till now there are 63 cliff statues, 34 single statues, and 29 inscriptions in Ming and Qing Dynasties. These statue are on the highest elevation among all Anyue Grottoes. The original large-scale temple complex on the top of the village was demolished before liberation of New China, left only a group of bare round carved statues, precious to be painted. Mingshan Temple statues ring around the top of the mountain, a total length of 350 meters, imposing manner, tall and exquisite Buddha, 5-7 meters high 8 bodies. There are Pilu Buddha, Twelve Yuanjue Bodhisattva, niche Gang, guards, mainly Guanyin Bodhisattva, Weishi Bodhisattva, Manjusri Bodhisattva and Pilu Buddha. In particular, making full use of the principle of mechanics, Manjusri Bodhisattva has his left hand holding the book which extended 1.5 meters outward. The weight of the book and the hand is thousands of kgs on weight, after thousands of years without destruction, all by 2.2 meters high hanging ground cassock support, modelling is very clever.
Peacock Cave
Peacock Cave is located at the foothills of Peacock Mountain near Shuanglong Street, 55 kilometers south of Anyue city, bordering with Dazu District of Chongqing. The original Qing dynasty construction temple, now only left part of the houses. Between the rock wall behind the temple, chisel 10 niches, existing more than 70 cliff statues. The contents of the statues include the statue of the Peacock King, the third Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, the Changes of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva, Youbosai, thunder, electric mother, wind, Rain master and so on. At the top of the mountain, there are three floors, and 144 Buddhist scriptures are the only ones in China.
The peacock statue niche is 4.7 meters high, 4.3 meters wide and 2.7 meters deep. In the middle of the carved three-dimensional whole body peacock, full wings, vivid shape. The peacock carries eight lotus flowers on its back, and the peacock King Ming Bodhisattva, wearing a treasure crown, wearing a white light clothes, holding the lotus in the left hand, holding the bird feather in the right hand, the sculptor is fine, beautiful and generous. There are two groups of peacock Ming between the left and right arms. On both sides of the wall carved 10 Buddha people, beautiful features, quiet and elegant, hands folded, in a pious service to the Buddha. The whole cave is ingenious in shape, reasonable in layout and exquisite in carving. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the villagers built a kitchen in front of the statues, making the statues escape previous disasters and be well preserved, which can be called the best work in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Mumen Tempel
Mumen Temple meaning Wooden Door Temple is located on Qingquan Mountainin,Shigu Township , 25 kilometers north of Anyue city. Built in the first year of Hongxi of the Ming Dynasty (1425 A.D), it was the burial place of the eminent monk Wuji Zen in the Ming Dynasty. Because the whole building is built of stone, only the door is wooden, sogot its name.
Mumen Temple is an imitation of wood building without beam stone pavilion. Burendless Zen master. The pavilion is 12 meters high, 7.8 meters long and 6.8 meters wide. The seat faces south. Its column, fang, eaves, ridge, dougong, are rigorous. The pavilion is built with five level eight stone tower, the mummy of Wuji sitting among them. The top of the pavilion is like a lotus bud, with a carved flower pattern, two vertical open tablets on the side, and the construction of the wooden door Temple and the endless Zen master. The whole pavilion is covered by the three-fold wooden structure dougong hall. The tower is in the pavilion, with a peculiar shape and exquisite carving.
Xuanmiao Guan Temple
Xuanmiao Guan Temple is located on the waist of sacred Mountain in Huangjuexiang, 15 kilometers north of Anyue county. It is a Taoist cliff statue group. During the 30 years from the sixth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (718 A.D ) to the seventh year of Tianbao (748 A.D), their descendants had more makeup repairs. In 1964 A.D, it was announced as a cultural relic protection unit in Sichuan Province, but now the temple has been destroyed. In front of the temple, there are 79 niches around a huge stone, with 1293 carved statues, among which the old gentleman statue is 2.2 meters high and 12 niches are 2 meters high. The walls of the shrine are carved with different images of Taoist immortals, king Kong, and pavilions. There are also four Tang tablets. Xuanmiao Temple is the largest existing site of the Tang Dynasty Taoist cave temple in China.
Besides above points, there are more attractions of carving in other villages of Anyue.
Tour Map of Anyue Grottoes:
Weather Information of Anyue County:
for its stone carving art. Anyue stone carvings began in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and flourished in the Tang, Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty. There are mainly Buddhist statues and Taoist statues. There are more than 500 ancient stone carvings and more than 100,000 statues. Anyue stone carvings inherit and continue the ancient artistic tradition of cliff statues and carry them forward. It has round carving, tower carving, wall carving, tablet carving and other technical forms, fine carving, skilled knife method, ingenuity, vivid characters and full of interest. The Purple Bamboo Guanyin of Mingshan Temple shows its extremely high artistic value.Anyue is the county with the most concentrated sites of ancient Buddhist statues in ancient China. It has been found 368 grottoes and more than 100,000 statues, especially the magnificent statues of the Tang Dynasty and the exquisite statues of the Two Song Dynasty. It played the role of succeeding the Longmen Grotto and leading the Dazu stone carvings . In 2000 A.D, Anyue stone carvings were awarded the title of "The Hometown of Chinese Stone Carvings" by China National Ministry of Culture. The Anyue Grottoes have been listed in the reserve list of world Cultural heritage sites.
Main distribution points of Anyue Grottoes:
Wofoyuan Sleeping Buddha Courtyard Temple
Wofoyuan is located in Wofo Village, Wofo Town, Anyue County. It was enlisted in the third group of national key cultural relics protection units in January 1988 by the State Council. The statue is located in a long and narrow mountain valley, where the statue built a magnificent scale in the Tang Dynasty. It was gradually abandoned and unknown to the outside world, therefore the grottoes were kept intact to the out world. It was not rediscovered until the cultural relics survey in 1982.
On the 1 km long gully and about 20 meters high on both sides, there are 1613 cliff statues of stone grottoes, inscriptions, scriptures, buildings, and different animal images, etc in Tang Dynasty. Sleeping Buddha courtyard with "Sakyamuni nirvana holy trace map" is the most spectacular here. The giant Sakyamuni lying on his left body on the cliff, 21.3 meters long, 3 meters long, 3.1 meters wide shoulder width, back north south, head and east feet west. His hands opened flat, closed eyes like sleep. And his head full of screw bun, earlobe each wear a round blooming flower earrings. Also his head is padding flat lotus pillow, and body is slender body, wearing cassock, curved eyebrow rich, kind and dignified. Behind the head of the sleeping Buddha, on the wall was carved half body guard who was naked upper body, and his left hand clenched fist,eye opened ring. And a disciple is sitting around Buddha’s waist, feet naked stand a force, mighty and vigorous.
Between the cliffs opposite the sleeping Buddha, there are dense tang Dynasty cliff statue niches. There are 55 sutras niches dug on the two cliffs of about 800 meters long,
Qianfozhai Village
Qianfozhai Village meaning village with thousands of Buddha, is located in the western suburb of the Anyue county 3 kilometers on Dayun Mountain. Since the Tang Dynasty, it was named after the natural rock village carved around the top of the mountain. The village is in a narrow shape. There are 105 grottoes and 3064 statues on the two rock walls, 7 cliff stupas, 3 Tang tablets and 26 inscriptions in the past dynasties. The floating map is 4.6 meters and the minimum is 20 cm. The largest niche is 6.4 meters wide, 6 meters high and 3.3 meters deep. Cliff statue 3-6 meters high 14, 1-2 meters 250. The largest statue of Sakyamuni is 6.2 meters high, and the other many bodhisattvas, arhat, shrine, lux, Feitian, law god, donors and various classics "story statues, fully showing the pain and joy of" heaven, earth and hell ". Qianfozhai Village is the earliest and considerable grottoes in the Anyue Grottoes. Tang Dynasty pharmacist transformation statues are rare in China, and male Feitian dressed in woman is the only one in China.
Yuanjue Cave
Yuanjue Cave is located on Yunju Mountain in the southern suburb of Anyue County. Yuanjue Cave grottoes are concentrated in the south and north of the west hill cliff, the statue area is 186 meters long, and there are 103 cliff grottoes, 1933 statues, 25 inscriptions and 1 floating map in the Tang Dynasty. Because of the Song Dynasty 12 Yuanyue statues, hence the name. It was excavated in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, passed through the former Shu and the Later Shu, and then it reached the peak of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was completed for more than 400 years.
The "three Western sages" Amitabha Buddha, General Weishi Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, 7 meters high, were all the works of the Northern Song Dynasty with exquisite shape. After the mountain, there are more than 80 niches of Tang and Five dynasties 1000 years ago, and more than 1000 statues of Buddha. Yuanjue Cave is located between Amitabha Buddha and Aquarius Guanyin. The cave is 10 meters deep, 4.5 meters high and 4.4 meters wide. On the Buddha platform is the main wall of the cave. The head of the Buddha in the cave was damaged in 20th century, therefore the head of the Buddha in the cave is re-carved in the 1980s.
The Song Dynasty stone carvings on the left and right walls of the three niches are well painted. With the ribbon flying in the wind, they create the artistic conception of "light and slow, the sky flying, and the wind moving on the wall", which is a wonderful product of the Song Dynasty.
Pilu Cave
Pilu Cave is located in the Jue Mountain of Youping, Shiyang Town, 50 kilometers southeast of Anyue County. There are 20 niches (including 6 empty niches), 465 statues of all sizes and 18 inscriptions, created in the early Song Dynasty. Statues are concentrated in Pilu Cave, secluded Cave, Thousand Buddha Cave and Guanyin Hall. It is one of the main statue areas of Sichuan Buddhism during the Northern Song Dynasty. The main contents of the statues are: the ten statues of Liuben Zun, the three statues of Liubenzun, the Changes of Guanyin, the three sages of Huayan, the main statues of merit, the three emperors, etc. The statue of Guanyin (commonly known as purple bamboo Guanyin or water and moon Guanyin) in the No.19 Guanyin Sutra change cave is an outstanding representative of the Song Dynasty statues in China, which is hailed as the "god of Oriental beauty". The theme content has rich local characteristics, and the highlight could be attributed to no. 8 Liu Benzun ten refining caves which displayed the performance of "Sichuan Tantra" ancestor theme .
Huayan Cave
Huayan Cave is located in the Xianggai mountain of Shiyang town, and it has two caves of Huayan cave and big Prajna cave. There are 159 statues of Song Dynasty, and 24 inscriptions in many dynasties. Huayan Cave is the largest cave in the grottoes in Anyue County. The statues are magnificent, exquisite and well preserved, which can be called the god of stone carving art in the Northern Song Dynasty. Huayan cave carved Huayan Three Saints and ten Bodhisattva, good wealth children 53 ginseng, around the mouth of the cave for the Ming Dynasty supplementary Guanyin, Morri zhi heaven. The Great Prajna Cave is a statue mixed with the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there are Confucius, Laozi, Shijia, Manjusri, Bodhisattva, Eighteen Arhats, and Twenty Heaven.
Mingshan Temple
Mingshan Temple is in the top of Hutou Mountain 64 kms southeast of Anyue city. Its statue are mainly carved in the Northern Song Dynasty, till now there are 63 cliff statues, 34 single statues, and 29 inscriptions in Ming and Qing Dynasties. These statue are on the highest elevation among all Anyue Grottoes. The original large-scale temple complex on the top of the village was demolished before liberation of New China, left only a group of bare round carved statues, precious to be painted. Mingshan Temple statues ring around the top of the mountain, a total length of 350 meters, imposing manner, tall and exquisite Buddha, 5-7 meters high 8 bodies. There are Pilu Buddha, Twelve Yuanjue Bodhisattva, niche Gang, guards, mainly Guanyin Bodhisattva, Weishi Bodhisattva, Manjusri Bodhisattva and Pilu Buddha. In particular, making full use of the principle of mechanics, Manjusri Bodhisattva has his left hand holding the book which extended 1.5 meters outward. The weight of the book and the hand is thousands of kgs on weight, after thousands of years without destruction, all by 2.2 meters high hanging ground cassock support, modelling is very clever.
Peacock Cave
Peacock Cave is located at the foothills of Peacock Mountain near Shuanglong Street, 55 kilometers south of Anyue city, bordering with Dazu District of Chongqing. The original Qing dynasty construction temple, now only left part of the houses. Between the rock wall behind the temple, chisel 10 niches, existing more than 70 cliff statues. The contents of the statues include the statue of the Peacock King, the third Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, the Changes of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva, Youbosai, thunder, electric mother, wind, Rain master and so on. At the top of the mountain, there are three floors, and 144 Buddhist scriptures are the only ones in China.
The peacock statue niche is 4.7 meters high, 4.3 meters wide and 2.7 meters deep. In the middle of the carved three-dimensional whole body peacock, full wings, vivid shape. The peacock carries eight lotus flowers on its back, and the peacock King Ming Bodhisattva, wearing a treasure crown, wearing a white light clothes, holding the lotus in the left hand, holding the bird feather in the right hand, the sculptor is fine, beautiful and generous. There are two groups of peacock Ming between the left and right arms. On both sides of the wall carved 10 Buddha people, beautiful features, quiet and elegant, hands folded, in a pious service to the Buddha. The whole cave is ingenious in shape, reasonable in layout and exquisite in carving. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the villagers built a kitchen in front of the statues, making the statues escape previous disasters and be well preserved, which can be called the best work in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Mumen Tempel
Mumen Temple meaning Wooden Door Temple is located on Qingquan Mountainin,Shigu Township , 25 kilometers north of Anyue city. Built in the first year of Hongxi of the Ming Dynasty (1425 A.D), it was the burial place of the eminent monk Wuji Zen in the Ming Dynasty. Because the whole building is built of stone, only the door is wooden, sogot its name.
Mumen Temple is an imitation of wood building without beam stone pavilion. Burendless Zen master. The pavilion is 12 meters high, 7.8 meters long and 6.8 meters wide. The seat faces south. Its column, fang, eaves, ridge, dougong, are rigorous. The pavilion is built with five level eight stone tower, the mummy of Wuji sitting among them. The top of the pavilion is like a lotus bud, with a carved flower pattern, two vertical open tablets on the side, and the construction of the wooden door Temple and the endless Zen master. The whole pavilion is covered by the three-fold wooden structure dougong hall. The tower is in the pavilion, with a peculiar shape and exquisite carving.
Xuanmiao Guan Temple
Xuanmiao Guan Temple is located on the waist of sacred Mountain in Huangjuexiang, 15 kilometers north of Anyue county. It is a Taoist cliff statue group. During the 30 years from the sixth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (718 A.D ) to the seventh year of Tianbao (748 A.D), their descendants had more makeup repairs. In 1964 A.D, it was announced as a cultural relic protection unit in Sichuan Province, but now the temple has been destroyed. In front of the temple, there are 79 niches around a huge stone, with 1293 carved statues, among which the old gentleman statue is 2.2 meters high and 12 niches are 2 meters high. The walls of the shrine are carved with different images of Taoist immortals, king Kong, and pavilions. There are also four Tang tablets. Xuanmiao Temple is the largest existing site of the Tang Dynasty Taoist cave temple in China.
Besides above points, there are more attractions of carving in other villages of Anyue.
Tour Map of Anyue Grottoes:
Weather Information of Anyue County:
Note: From January to December, red line is the highest Centigrade in average, blue line is the lowest climate in average.
More Attractions
-
Detailed information of Leshan Buddha, including its tour map, weather and introduction. Le...... -
Complete information of Yading national park,including its story, map, hotels and climate. ...... -
Jiayang steam train has been running for almost half a century in Qianwei County, Leshan Ci...... -
Detailed information of Chengdu Panda garden including map and weather information of panda......
Recommended Tours
1 Day Chengdu Harmoney Tours of Mt Qingchengshan and Dujiangyan Dam
One day classic tours of Chengdu to Mt. Qingchengshan and Dujiangyan Dam will show tourist the profound of ancient Chinese wisdom and culture in harmony relation with the world. ......
1 Day Chengdu Giant Panda and Leshan Buddha Day Trip
The most classic one day Chengdu tours will bring tourist to Chengdu Giant panda garden and Leshan giant buddha with private travel guide and car in Chengdu, extremely convenient and easy!......
1 Day Best Chengdu Tours of Sanxingdui and Giant Panda Garden
One days best Chengdu tours bring tourist to Sanxingdui museum and giant panda garden with private guide and car, making your tour in Chengdu easy. ......
1 Day Chengdu Panda Volunteer Tour in Dujiangyan/Wolong/Bifengxia
This panda volunteer work provide tourist with one days unique experience of Panda volunteer project works and bring them an intimate touch with Giant pandas, also the best way to learn deep about pand......
2 Days Mt. Emeishan and Leshan Bullet Train Adventure
It is tour from the only one operator in Chengdu tours market offering Emeishan and Leshan tours by bullet train. Our highlights including Leshan Giant Buddha and Mt Emeishan. ......
