Tang dynasty by local and gentry, monks and nuns, and ordinary people during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-65). In the 12th century, during the Song dynasty, a Buddhist monk named Zhao Zhifeng began work on the elaborate sculptures and carvings on Mount Baoding, dedicating 70 years of his life to the project. Unlike most collections of rock carvings, the Dazu rock carvings include statues representing all three major religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Off limits to visitors for many years, the carvings were opened to Chinese travelers in 1961 and foreign visitors in 1980. Until 1975, there was only a muddy path between the town of Dazu and the main cluster of carvings. The carvings were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1999, citing "…their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism." Panorama Gallery Transport Dazushike railway station on Chengdu-Chongqing Central line high-speed railway is currently under construction See also Dazu Lotus Manor, a nearby attraction Tianlongshan Grottoes References External links UNESCO World Heritage Centre page Wisdom embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a collection catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the Dazu Rock Carvings 7th-century works World Heritage Sites in China Chinese Buddhist grottoes Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Chongqing Song dynasty art Tang dynasty art Outdoor sculptures in China Sculpture series AAAAA-rated tourist attractions Buddhist temples in Chongqing Rock reliefs in China 7th-century establishments in China Chinese architectural history