Gufo Temple, Baodingshan, Dazu Qu, Chongqing Shi, China
Also known as Mount Baoding, Precious Summit Mountain, and Summit of Treasures is a Buddhist site in Chongqing. The site is located on a limestone outcropping at an elevation of 500 meters, fifteen kilometers north of the city of Dazu, a market town that dates to 758 CE and the city is ringed by religious sites dating from 892 to 1249 CE.
Primary construction at Baodingshan took place during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 CE) but it remained largely unknown to the outside world until its reopening to the public in the 1980s, the earliest documented research on the site dating to 1944. The site has since been designated a World Heritage Site since 1999, falling within the collective grouping of Dazu Rock Carvings, a reference to the district in which Baodingshan is located.
Dazu County covers 1400 square kilometers northwest of Chongqing on the road to Chengdu. During the Song Dynasty, this area of the Chengdu plain was considered one of the wealthiest regions in China.
Epic China Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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