CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Recently, the first domestically produced 3A game, Black Myth: Wukong, made a stunning debut and has been embraced by gamers worldwide. Among the rock carvings of Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing, sculptures such as the Thousand-hand Guanyin, the Western Pure Land Transformations of Baoding Mountain, were put into the game scenes, showcasing the unique charm of this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site. In addition to these well-known grotto sculptures, there are hundreds more grottoes scattered in the countryside. Although located in remote areas, they have long been protected by a group of unsung guardians – volunteer cultural relics preservationists, most of whom are local farmers. For decades, they have quietly safeguarded these cultural treasures.

Since the first sound of carving during the Yonghui Period of the Tang Dynasty, the sound of chiseling the Dazu Rock Carvings has been heard for over a thousand years. The carvings mainly depict Buddhist themes but also include Confucian and Taoist statues. In 1999, the Dazu Rock Carvings were selected as a World Cultural Heritage site, becoming China’s second rock grotto heritage site after Dunhuang. This recognition from the world led to the saying, “Dunhuang in the North, Dazu in the South.”

To protect the grottoes scattered in the countryside from vandalism, theft, and other damage, the former Dazu Rock Carvings Art Museum (now the Academy of Dazu Rock Carvings) began recruiting volunteer cultural preservationists in 1986 to guard the carvings, providing them with subsidies. Huang Guanghua (left) and Zhong Gaoran (right), both over 60 years old, who are cousins, have lived next to the Thousand Buddha Cliff Rock Carvings for years and known these sculptures very well since they were very young.