UNESCO inscribed Dazu rock carvings on the World Heritage

Dazu

Dazu is a county at the southeast corner of Sichuan Basin. In the county are scattered in over 20 sites several ten thousand of rock sculptures carved in Tang and Song Dynasties, those of Song Dynasty especially large in number, which are generally referred to as Dazu rock carvings.
As the representative of Chinese grotto art of its later stage, Dazu rock carvings advanced further in diversity of subject matters, artistic forms, modeling techniques, and aesthetic interests. With their distinctive features of Chinese nationality and real life, they are rated with the other grottoes to form a complete history of Chinese grotto art. Moreover, Dazu rock carvings are the best preserved of all those in China, and most of the caves and statues have hardly suffered any serious damage.
Dazu rock carvings reveal from all aspects the vital development of the art style of Chinese grottoes and the folks religious believes from the 9th century to the 13th century. They bear a historical, artistic, scientific, and aesthetic value that none of the earlier grottoes could possibly have.
In December of 1999, UNESCO inscribed Dazu rock carvings on the World Heritage List as a cultural heritage.