# Dazu Rock Carvings, a day from Chongqing

> The Dazu Rock Carvings are UNESCO-listed Buddhist cliff sculptures from the 9th–13th centuries, about 80 km west of central Chongqing. The main site, Baodingshan, costs ¥115; a combined ticket with Beishan is ¥140, less in winter. Open daily 9:00–18:00, ticket office until 16:00. Allow 2–3 hours on site — a full day with travel.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/dazu-rock-carvings

- City: [Chongqing](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing), China
- YesGo score: 21/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 3 h
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Baodingshan (incl. Shengshou Temple): ¥115 peak season, ¥100 off season
- Beishan (day or night): ¥70 peak season, ¥50 off season
- Combined Baodingshan + Beishan: ¥140 peak season, ¥120 off season
- Seasons: Peak 1 March – 30 November; off season December – February
- Shuttle from the visitor centre: ¥12 one way, ¥20 return
- Digital cinema: ¥80, seven shows from 9:30 to 15:10
- Hours: 9:00–18:00, last entry 17:00, ticket office 8:30–16:00
- Tickets: Real-name, with your passport; sold online or at the visitor centre only
- Train from Chongqing: To Dazu South, about 30–40 min
- Dazu South to Baodingshan: About 37 km: taxi ¥80–100, 40–60 min
- Distance: About 80 km in a straight line from Jiefangbei
- Coordinates: 29.75437, 105.79407
- Facts checked: 04.11.2026

## Key facts

- **1999** — UNESCO World Heritage listing (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **75** — protected carving sites across Dazu District (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **50,000** — statues, plus more than 100,000 characters of inscriptions (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **31 m** — length of the reclining Buddha (Nirvana of Shakyamuni) at Baodingshan (source: Russian Wikipedia; chinahighlights.com; chinafortravelers.com)
- **70 years** — the monk Zhao Zhifeng spent directing the work at Baodingshan (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **650** — date of the earliest carvings, in the early Tang dynasty (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **Late 9th c.** — Beishan begun under the prefect Wei Junjing (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **3 traditions** — Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian figures share the same cliffs — rare in China (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **≈ 10,000** — sculptures along Beishan's 300-metre cliff (source: Russian Wikipedia; Wikivoyage)
- **1980** — the year the carvings opened to foreign visitors (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)

## Dazu Rock Carvings tickets and prices

In peak season **Baodingshan** (with Shengshou Temple) costs **¥115**, **Beishan** ¥70, and the **combined ticket** for both ¥140. From December to February it's ¥100, ¥50 and ¥120. The shuttle from the visitor centre to the Baodingshan carvings is ¥12 one way or ¥20 return; the digital cinema is ¥80.

The combined ticket saves ¥45 in peak season if you have time for both sites; guides say it stays valid for three days. Students and seniors get roughly half-price tickets, but sources differ on whether foreigners qualify — bring your passport and a student card just in case.

Tickets are real-name. Buy them on Trip.com (English, foreign cards accepted), through the Chinese-only official “大足石刻” WeChat account, or at the visitor-centre counter. Most payments in China go through **Alipay or WeChat Pay** with a linked foreign Visa or Mastercard; carry some cash yuan as a backup.

> **The station is far, and tickets are sold only at the visitor centre** The fast train from Chongqing reaches Dazu South in about half an hour, but Baodingshan is another 37 km from the station — budget an hour by taxi. There's no ticket desk at the carvings themselves: buy online or at the visitor centre, whose counters close at 16:00. Tickets are tied to your passport, so bring the original.

## How to get to the Dazu Rock Carvings from Chongqing

1. From Jiefangbei, take the metro to **Chongqing North** (重庆北站): Line 2 from Linjiangmen to Zengjiayan, then Line 10 — about half an hour. Trains to Dazu also leave from **Chongqing West** (Line 5 and the Loop Line, about an hour from the centre) and **Shapingba**, so pick whichever station has the best departure.
2. Book a high-speed train to **Dazu South** (大足南站) in the 12306 app or on Trip.com: 30–40 minutes, roughly ¥30–50 in second class. There aren't many trains, especially from Chongqing North, so book both ways in advance. Tickets are real-name.
3. Dazu South is about 37 km from Baodingshan. A taxi or DiDi takes 40–60 minutes and costs ¥80–100 — show the driver 大足石刻游客中心 (the visitor centre). Buses are slower: No. 204 to Dazu bus station, then No. 205 to Baodingshan, about 2 hours in total.
4. At the **visitor centre**, buy or collect your ticket, then ride the ¥12 shuttle to the carvings entrance — about 10 minutes. The path through the gorge is one-way and ends near the shuttle stop.
5. **Beishan** is about 11 km from Baodingshan: roughly ¥30 and 20–30 minutes by taxi. From there, take another taxi back to Dazu South.
6. No train? Long-distance buses from **Caiyuanba** bus station reach Dazu in 1.5–2 hours, then take bus No. 205. Or join a tour from Chongqing with a car — about 10 hours door to door.

## Is the Dazu Rock Carvings trip worth it?

Yes, if you care about Buddhist art or Chinese history — it's YesGo's top day trip from Chongqing for culture. Compared with Longmen or Yungang, Dazu has far more everyday scenes: parents and children, herdsmen with their oxen. Many figures are still painted.

Skip it if you only have a day or two in Chongqing — the city itself, with its riverfronts, cable car and night views, is the better use of time. And if you're after scenery rather than sculpture, [Wulong Karst](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/wulong-karst) is the stronger day out.

## Baodingshan or Beishan?

|  | Baodingshan | Beishan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Peak price | ¥115 | ¥70 |
| Location | In a gorge, about 11 km from Beishan | On the edge of Dazu town |
| Period | Song, 12th–13th centuries | Late Tang to Song, 9th–12th centuries |
| Scale | Huge narrative panels, 31-metre reclining Buddha | Hundreds of small niches along a 300 m cliff |
| Time | 2–3 hours | 1–1.5 hours |
| Evenings | No | Night visits available |
| Steps | Few, with a gentle route | Steep climbs and uneven paths |

Prices are official; timings and accessibility are unofficial, from guides. If you can only do one, YesGo recommends Baodingshan.

## What to see at Baodingshan

- **Nirvana of Shakyamuni** — a 31-metre reclining Buddha stretched along the gorge wall.
- **Thousand-Hand Guanyin** — a bodhisattva whose hundreds of arms fan out across a whole rock face — the best-known image at Dazu.
- **Wheel of Reincarnation** — the six realms of rebirth carved as one huge wheel.
- **Huayan Trinity** — three figures about 7 m tall.
- **Parents' Kindness Sutra** — scenes from conception to old age, the most human panel in the gorge.
- **Herding the Ox** — a sequence of herdsman-and-ox scenes, a Buddhist parable.
- **Shengshou Temple** (圣寿寺) — included in the Baodingshan ticket.

## Opening hours and how long you need

Baodingshan and Beishan are **open every day from 9:00 to 18:00**, with last entry at 17:00. The visitor-centre ticket counters, though, work only from 8:30 to 16:00, so arriving later without a ticket won't work. Beishan also opens for night visits from 19:30 to 23:00 — guides say only in the warmer months.

Allow **2–3 hours** for Baodingshan including the shuttle, plus 1–1.5 hours for Beishan and the transfer. With the trip from Chongqing and back it adds up to 8–10 hours. Arrive at opening: tour groups tend to turn up around 10:30–11:00, and entry can be capped during national holidays.

## Day tour from Chongqing or on your own?

Going independently is cheaper: train, two taxis and the combined ticket come to about ¥450 per person. The tricky parts are the limited trains to Dazu South, the taxi from the station and the Chinese booking channels.

A tour with a car picks you up at your hotel, gets you there at opening and usually covers both sites — sensible in your first days in China, before Alipay and mobile data are sorted. Without a guide many Baodingshan panels are just beautiful figures; with one they become stories you can read scene by scene.

## Before you go: checklist

- [ ] Original passport — the one used for train and site tickets
- [ ] Train tickets booked both ways
- [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay with a card linked — or cash yuan
- [ ] 大足石刻游客中心 saved to show the taxi driver
- [ ] Decided: Baodingshan only, or the combined ticket with Beishan
- [ ] At the visitor-centre counter before 16:00
- [ ] Comfortable shoes and water

## Chongqing's temples and sacred sites compared

Places of faith in Chongqing, rated by YesGo.

- [Luohan Temple](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/luohan-temple) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · ¥20, incense included
- [Dazu Rock Carvings](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/dazu-rock-carvings) — YesGo score 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ¥115; with Beishan ¥140

## Dazu by day, Chongqing by night

An early-evening train gets you back for dinner; from Jiefangbei it's a short walk to the lights of Hongyadong.

1. [Dazu Rock Carvings](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/dazu-rock-carvings) — YesGo score 21/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · ¥115; with Beishan ¥140
2. [Jiefangbei](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/jiefangbei) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free, open 24 hours
3. [Hongyadong](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/hongyadong) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free

## Good to know

Besides Baodingshan and Beishan, Dazu District has three smaller sites open to visitors — Nanshan, Shimenshan and Shizhuanshan — each with its own ticket and mainly for enthusiasts. The Dazu Rock Carvings Museum is at Baodingshan. Back in the city, the [Three Gorges Museum](https://yesgo.io/china/chongqing/three-gorges-museum) covers the wider history of the region.

## Tips

- Be at the visitor centre by 9:00 — the gorge is quiet before the tour groups arrive.
- Book your return train at least 6–7 hours after arrival if you want both sites.
- Taxis can be scarce at the Baodingshan car park — book a DiDi in advance or agree a return with your driver.
- Save the Chinese names — 重庆北站, 大足南站, 大足石刻游客中心, 北山石刻 — to show taxi drivers.
- The carvings are 3–4 km from the visitor centre — take the shuttle rather than walking.
- Entry is capped during national holidays — go on a weekday if you can.

## Questions

### How much are Dazu Rock Carvings tickets?

In peak season Baodingshan is ¥115, Beishan ¥70 and the combined ticket ¥140. From December to February: ¥100, ¥50 and ¥120. The shuttle is ¥12 one way.

### How do I get from Chongqing to the Dazu Rock Carvings?

High-speed train from Chongqing North, West or Shapingba to Dazu South (30–40 minutes), then a ¥80–100 taxi for the 37 km to Baodingshan. Or a bus from Caiyuanba, 1.5–2 hours.

### What are the opening hours?

Daily 9:00–18:00, last entry 17:00. Visitor-centre ticket counters 8:30–16:00. Beishan night visits 19:30–23:00.

### Baodingshan or Beishan — which is better?

With time for one, choose Baodingshan for the reclining Buddha and the Thousand-Hand Guanyin. Beishan has finer, smaller niches; add it if you have 1.5–2 hours to spare.

### How long do you need at Dazu?

2–3 hours at Baodingshan and 1–1.5 at Beishan. With travel from Chongqing and back, it's a full day.

### Is it worth visiting the Dazu Rock Carvings?

Yes for anyone interested in Buddhist art — it's Chongqing's best cultural day trip. With only a day or two in the city, stay in Chongqing instead.

### Can I buy tickets on site?

Yes, at the visitor centre until 16:00, with your passport. There are no ticket desks at the carvings. At weekends and holidays, book online.

### Do I need a tour?

No, but a guide explains the panels and handles the train and taxi logistics. Going alone is cheaper once Alipay is set up.

### Where exactly are the carvings?

In Dazu District, in the west of Chongqing municipality, about 80 km in a straight line from the centre. Beishan is at the edge of Dazu town; Baodingshan is about 11 km away.

## How we checked

Prices, hours and the shuttle fare come from China's official tourism website (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, published late last year) and match two guides, so they carry the “official” badge. That page gives no season dates: two guides say 1 March – 30 November, one says from 1 April, so seasons are marked “verifying”. The Dazu Rock Carvings Academy website would not load from our server. Train times and fares differ between sources (26–40 minutes, ¥32–49), so we give a range. Wikivoyage lists the return shuttle at ¥22; the official page says ¥20, which we use. Guides give last entry as 16:30, the official page 17:00, with counters closing at 16:00. Concessions for foreigners and the combined ticket's validity are unofficial. Chinese articles about free days and discounts for Sichuan and Chongqing residents contradict each other and don't apply to foreign visitors, so we leave them out. Payment advice is unofficial, from guides. The 80 km is our straight-line measurement from Jiefangbei to Baodingshan; by road it's about 2 hours.

## Sources

- Official tourism website of China (Ministry of Culture and Tourism): Dazu Rock Carvings — prices, hours, shuttle, cinema
- English and Russian Wikipedia: Dazu Rock Carvings; Wikidata Q651278, Q10949515
- chinafortravelers.com: train, taxi and buses from Dazu South, seasons, real-name tickets, time at each site
- Wikivoyage, Dazu: trains from each Chongqing station, buses 204 and 205, Beishan night visits, seasons
- chinahighlights.com: size of the reclining Buddha and the Huayan Trinity, time needed, accessibility
- Chinese media summary (sina.cn): official ticket channels, smaller sites
- chinafortravelers.com: Chongqing North and Chongqing West stations, metro to the centre

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