In addition to the Anyue lemons that are indispensable to Mixue Ice City, Anyue also has exquisite grottoes
Anyue Grottoes are beyond words! As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, cliff tombs and wall carvings appeared in the territory. Since the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties, large-scale stone carvings have emerged in Anyue. The Anyue Grottoes inherit the Yungang and Longmen Grottoes and are connected to the Dazu Grottoes. Perhaps because it is located in the inland and the people of Anyue devoutly believe in Amitabha Buddha, many exquisite statues have been preserved after the changes of dynasties and wars.
However, the Anyue stone carvings are still little known, which has a lot to do with the fact that it missed the "Architectural Society". In 1940, Liang Sicheng and his colleagues from the Architectural Society, including Liu Dunzhen, conducted diligent investigations in Bashu. In January, they came to Tongnan County, where they heard that there were many cliff carvings in the nearby Dazu County, as well as the Thousand-Armed Guanyin from the Tang Dynasty (later confirmed to be from the Song Dynasty). So Mr. Liang and others happily went there and took a lot of photos at Beishan and Baoding Mountain. From then on, the Dazu Rock Carvings gradually became known to the outside world. Unfortunately, they missed the source of Dazu Rock Carvings - Anyue Rock Carvings; even more unfortunately, Anyue missed Liang Sicheng and also missed the opportunity for future development. To this day, Dazu Rock Carvings have been successfully listed as a World Heritage Site, but Anyue Rock Carvings are still little known!
I visited the Dazu Rock Carvings last year. This time I came to Anyue Grottoes. After three days of sightseeing, I can say that it is in no way inferior to the Dazu Rock Carvings. Not only are there more of them, but they are also extremely well preserved! Anyue Grottoes are distributed throughout the county. The highlights include Yuanjue Cave, Thousand Buddha Village, Pilu Cave, Huayan Cave, Mingshan Temple, Reclining Buddha Courtyard, Mumen City, as well as Gaosheng Buddha, Tapo, Peacock Cave, Xuanmiao Temple, etc. However, many places are not open, and you need to contact cultural relics protection officers, and it all depends on luck. Anyue Grottoes are extremely scattered, most of them are located in remote mountains, and you need to drive yourself or charter a car to get there. The mountain roads are narrow and steep, which is a big test for inexperienced drivers!
Picture 1 is the most tranquil Purple Bamboo Guanyin outside Pilu Cave, Picture 2 is the most beautiful Guanyin in Huayan Cave, Picture 3 is the Lotus Guanyin in Yuanjue Cave, Picture 4 is the Pure Bottle Guanyin in Yuanjue Cave. Unlike other Pure Bottle Guanyins holding bottles, this one is the Guanyin holding bottles, Picture 5 is the Sakyamuni holding a flower in Yuanjue Cave, looking at his disciples tenderly; Picture 6 is the Ten Refining Diagrams of Liu Benzun, who preached by self-mutilation; Pictures 7, 8, 9, Figure ten is the Huayan Three Saints Vairocana Buddha and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in the Huayan Cave, with five Bodhisattvas on each side; Figures 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are the Guanyin statues in Mingshan Temple. Although they are well preserved, they still cannot escape the years of wind erosion; Figure 16 is the Tapo statue; Figure 17 is the big reclining Buddha in the Reclining Buddha Courtyard, and Figure 18 is one of the countless backgrounds behind the many main statues in the caves, and they are lifelike!
Anyue Grottoes can be visited in two to three days.
On the first day, we visited Yuanjue Cave, Qianfo Village, Reclining Buddha Courtyard, and Mumen Temple;
On the second day, we visited Pilu Cave, Huayan Cave and Mingshan Temple.
These two days of itinerary are the highlight. If you have time, you can try your luck at Tapo, Xuanmiao Temple, Peacock Cave, Banbian Temple, Bodhisattva Bay and Lingyouyuan to see if these places are open. Personally, I think these two days of highlights are enough!