Dazu Rock Carvings: Which Hill to See
Choose which Dazu hill deserves your day: Baodingshan, Beishan or one of the smaller sites. Their access and depth vary greatly, so map distance is a poor reason to cram several into a first visit.
The short answer
Go to Baodingshan only. The museum is included in its ticket and sits on the way up; allow three to four hours on the hill, and arrive before the 11:00-15:00 peak.
Buy the combined ticket — 140 yuan in peak season, 120 in winter, against 115 plus 70 bought separately — but once it has been checked in it cannot be partly refunded. See Beishan first; the two gates are 12 km apart.
Each is 30 yuan on its own and on no combined ticket. Nanshan is 2 km from town; the other two are 20 km out in opposite directions, and Shizhuanshan has no bus. With a passport, ring the hill office first to check it sells at the gate that day.
Ticket sales stop at 16:00 at every hill — Baodingshan's visitor centre, Beishan and the three small hills alike. At Baodingshan, be at the old-street car park for the return shuttle by 17:30; the last shuttle time is not published.
Book to Dazu South, the high-speed station 35 km from town. 'Dazu' station, 1 km to the north on the old Chengdu-Chongqing line, takes only slow trains, and 'Dazu Shike' station on the new line does not open until 2027 — you will not find it on 12306.
Side by sideEach cell ends with the date of the notice it was checked against
Swipe sideways; the first column stays put
Baodingshan
宝顶山Open the place →- What you see, and is it worth it
- The one you cannot skip: a 500 m U-shaped cliff carved 1174-1252 as one planned Buddhist sequence — the Thousand-Hand Guanyin (830 hands, regilded 2008-2015), the 31 m reclining Buddha, the Wheel of Rebirth. Chongqing's only World Heritage site since 1999 · 2026-09-21
- Ticket (peak 1 Mar-30 Nov) & combined tickets
- Peak 115 yuan (1 March-30 November), low 100; with Beishan 140 / 120. The museum is included; the shuttle up (22 yuan return on the posted list) is not · 2026-09-21
- Hours & last tickets
- Visitor centre 8:30-16:30; tickets to 16:00, check-in to 16:10; the hill closes at 18:00. Peak 11:00-15:00 — come before or after · 2025-04-24
- Getting there
- Only through the Dazu Rock Carvings Visitor Centre on Baotang Avenue, then the compulsory shuttle 3.5 km up. By bus: Dazu South station, bus 204 into town, then bus 205 — about two hours; or a taxi · 2025-10-22
- Booking & passport
- Online booking needs a Chinese ID number; with a passport, buy at the staffed window in the visitor centre. The passport is on the valid-document list; faces are recorded at the gate — bring the original · 2026-09-21
- Time needed & terrain
- Three to four hours on the hill: about 40 minutes in the museum, over an hour along the 500 m cliff, then out through the old street to the return shuttle. Narrow paths and steps, slippery in rain · 2026-09-21
- Don't get this wrong
- Bus 205's 'Baodingshan' stop is the old gate, with no ticket window since November 2025. Daily capacity is 17,500 and the gates do shut when it is reached on holidays · 2025-04-24
Beishan
北山Open the place →- What you see, and is it worth it
- The quiet half: a 500 m gallery cut niche by niche from 892 into the Song, by hundreds of donors — the Revolving Sutra Cave (No. 136), the Guanyin with prayer beads (No. 125). About a tenth of Baodingshan's crowd · 2026-09-21
- Ticket (peak 1 Mar-30 Nov) & combined tickets
- Peak 70 yuan, low 50 (half 35 / 25); on the 140 / 120 combined ticket with Baodingshan. The price list does not show a separate night-session ticket · 2026-09-21
- Hours & last tickets
- Day 9:00-18:00; tickets 8:30-16:00, entry to 17:00. Night session 19:30-23:00 (tickets 19:30-21:00), back from 21 September 2026 after summer maintenance · 2026-07-13
- Getting there
- Its own gate on Beishan Road, 1.5 km north of town — not the Baodingshan visitor centre, 12 km away. From Dazu South: bus 204 to Dazu Zhongxue or 206 to Hongsheng Square, then a taxi · 2024-03-04
- Booking & passport
- With a passport, use a staffed window; Beishan has its own gate ticket office (023-43721274) — confirm on the day. The passport is on the valid-document list; faces are recorded at the gate · 2026-09-21
- Time needed & terrain
- Time needed: not published. A 500 m cliff path; the caves are dark even by day — bring a torch or use your phone · 2026-09-21
- Don't get this wrong
- Not the old 'Dazu Rock Carvings Art Museum' some maps show at the Beishan turn; the museum with the cinema is at Baodingshan. And the night session closed for maintenance two summers running · 2026-09-21
Nanshan
南山Open the place →- What you see, and is it worth it
- Daoist, not Buddhist: 4 caves and 3 steles of 1131-1162 around the Sanqing cave, which the institute calls the most complete surviving picture of the Song Daoist pantheon. For a second visit or a Daoism specialist · 2026-09-21
- Ticket (peak 1 Mar-30 Nov) & combined tickets
- 30 yuan all year, half 15; not on the Baodingshan-Beishan combined ticket · 2026-09-21
- Hours & last tickets
- 9:00-17:30; tickets to 16:00, check-in to 16:30. The Sanqing hall and cave reopened on 1 August 2026 after repairs · 2026-07-31
- Getting there
- Hilltop about 2 km south of town, inside the free Nanshan park. From Dazu South: bus 204 to Dazu Zhongxue or 206 to Hongsheng Square, then a taxi; no bus links the hills except the Beishan-Baoding line · 2025-04-24
- Booking & passport
- With a passport, use a staffed window — the official note points to the Baodingshan visitor centre; ask the Nanshan office (023-43780130) whether its own gate sells that day · 2026-09-21
- Time needed & terrain
- About an hour; the park around the carvings has paved paths, and the ticketed enclosure is at the top · 2026-09-21
- Don't get this wrong
- Not the free Nanshan park you climb through, and not the Nanshan across the river in central Chongqing. Old guides saying the Sanqing hall is shut until December are out of date · 2026-07-31
Shimenshan and Shizhuanshan
石门山 · 石篆山Open the place →- What you see, and is it worth it
- The two outlying hills, opened formally on 20 July 2024. Shimenshan: Dazu's largest combined Buddhist-Daoist group. Shizhuanshan (1082-1096): the earliest large three-teachings group, with a rare niche of Confucius and ten disciples. For a second visit · 2024-07-22
- Ticket (peak 1 Mar-30 Nov) & combined tickets
- 30 yuan each, all year, half 15; on no combined ticket — the 140 yuan ticket does not get you in · 2026-09-21
- Hours & last tickets
- Both 9:00-17:30; tickets to 16:00, check-in to 16:30. Both closed 7-28 September 2024 under a forest-fire order · 2024-09-14
- Getting there
- Each about 20 km from town in opposite directions, about 40 minutes by car. Shimenshan: bus 210 or 211 from Dazu bus station to the 'Shimenshan Shike' stop. Shizhuanshan: no bus — taxi or ride-hail, and book the ride back first · 2024-03-04
- Booking & passport
- With a passport, use a staffed window — the official note points to the Baodingshan visitor centre; ring Shimenshan (023-81091825) or Shizhuanshan (023-81098774) before the drive · 2026-09-21
- Time needed & terrain
- Time on site: not published; the real cost is the drive, and there is no bus between the two hills · 2026-09-21
- Don't get this wrong
- Shimenshan is not Shizhuanshan: they are 40 km apart on opposite sides of town — naming the wrong one to a driver costs two hours · 2026-09-21
| Compare | Baodingshan | Beishan | Nanshan | Shimenshan and Shizhuanshan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you see, and is it worth it | The one you cannot skip: a 500 m U-shaped cliff carved 1174-1252 as one planned Buddhist sequence — the Thousand-Hand Guanyin (830 hands, regilded 2008-2015), the 31 m reclining Buddha, the Wheel of Rebirth. Chongqing's only World Heritage site since 1999 · 2026-09-21 | The quiet half: a 500 m gallery cut niche by niche from 892 into the Song, by hundreds of donors — the Revolving Sutra Cave (No. 136), the Guanyin with prayer beads (No. 125). About a tenth of Baodingshan's crowd · 2026-09-21 | Daoist, not Buddhist: 4 caves and 3 steles of 1131-1162 around the Sanqing cave, which the institute calls the most complete surviving picture of the Song Daoist pantheon. For a second visit or a Daoism specialist · 2026-09-21 | The two outlying hills, opened formally on 20 July 2024. Shimenshan: Dazu's largest combined Buddhist-Daoist group. Shizhuanshan (1082-1096): the earliest large three-teachings group, with a rare niche of Confucius and ten disciples. For a second visit · 2024-07-22 |
| Ticket (peak 1 Mar-30 Nov) & combined tickets | Peak 115 yuan (1 March-30 November), low 100; with Beishan 140 / 120. The museum is included; the shuttle up (22 yuan return on the posted list) is not · 2026-09-21 | Peak 70 yuan, low 50 (half 35 / 25); on the 140 / 120 combined ticket with Baodingshan. The price list does not show a separate night-session ticket · 2026-09-21 | 30 yuan all year, half 15; not on the Baodingshan-Beishan combined ticket · 2026-09-21 | 30 yuan each, all year, half 15; on no combined ticket — the 140 yuan ticket does not get you in · 2026-09-21 |
| Hours & last tickets | Visitor centre 8:30-16:30; tickets to 16:00, check-in to 16:10; the hill closes at 18:00. Peak 11:00-15:00 — come before or after · 2025-04-24 | Day 9:00-18:00; tickets 8:30-16:00, entry to 17:00. Night session 19:30-23:00 (tickets 19:30-21:00), back from 21 September 2026 after summer maintenance · 2026-07-13 | 9:00-17:30; tickets to 16:00, check-in to 16:30. The Sanqing hall and cave reopened on 1 August 2026 after repairs · 2026-07-31 | Both 9:00-17:30; tickets to 16:00, check-in to 16:30. Both closed 7-28 September 2024 under a forest-fire order · 2024-09-14 |
| Getting there | Only through the Dazu Rock Carvings Visitor Centre on Baotang Avenue, then the compulsory shuttle 3.5 km up. By bus: Dazu South station, bus 204 into town, then bus 205 — about two hours; or a taxi · 2025-10-22 | Its own gate on Beishan Road, 1.5 km north of town — not the Baodingshan visitor centre, 12 km away. From Dazu South: bus 204 to Dazu Zhongxue or 206 to Hongsheng Square, then a taxi · 2024-03-04 | Hilltop about 2 km south of town, inside the free Nanshan park. From Dazu South: bus 204 to Dazu Zhongxue or 206 to Hongsheng Square, then a taxi; no bus links the hills except the Beishan-Baoding line · 2025-04-24 | Each about 20 km from town in opposite directions, about 40 minutes by car. Shimenshan: bus 210 or 211 from Dazu bus station to the 'Shimenshan Shike' stop. Shizhuanshan: no bus — taxi or ride-hail, and book the ride back first · 2024-03-04 |
| Booking & passport | Online booking needs a Chinese ID number; with a passport, buy at the staffed window in the visitor centre. The passport is on the valid-document list; faces are recorded at the gate — bring the original · 2026-09-21 | With a passport, use a staffed window; Beishan has its own gate ticket office (023-43721274) — confirm on the day. The passport is on the valid-document list; faces are recorded at the gate · 2026-09-21 | With a passport, use a staffed window — the official note points to the Baodingshan visitor centre; ask the Nanshan office (023-43780130) whether its own gate sells that day · 2026-09-21 | With a passport, use a staffed window — the official note points to the Baodingshan visitor centre; ring Shimenshan (023-81091825) or Shizhuanshan (023-81098774) before the drive · 2026-09-21 |
| Time needed & terrain | Three to four hours on the hill: about 40 minutes in the museum, over an hour along the 500 m cliff, then out through the old street to the return shuttle. Narrow paths and steps, slippery in rain · 2026-09-21 | Time needed: not published. A 500 m cliff path; the caves are dark even by day — bring a torch or use your phone · 2026-09-21 | About an hour; the park around the carvings has paved paths, and the ticketed enclosure is at the top · 2026-09-21 | Time on site: not published; the real cost is the drive, and there is no bus between the two hills · 2026-09-21 |
| Don't get this wrong | Bus 205's 'Baodingshan' stop is the old gate, with no ticket window since November 2025. Daily capacity is 17,500 and the gates do shut when it is reached on holidays · 2025-04-24 | Not the old 'Dazu Rock Carvings Art Museum' some maps show at the Beishan turn; the museum with the cinema is at Baodingshan. And the night session closed for maintenance two summers running · 2026-09-21 | Not the free Nanshan park you climb through, and not the Nanshan across the river in central Chongqing. Old guides saying the Sanqing hall is shut until December are out of date · 2026-07-31 | Shimenshan is not Shizhuanshan: they are 40 km apart on opposite sides of town — naming the wrong one to a driver costs two hours · 2026-09-21 |
Dazu Rock Carvings Museum：Included in the Baodingshan ticket and on the loop between the service hall and the Dafowan cliff: about 40 minutes, 9:00-17:00 with check-in to 16:30. The 80 yuan digital cinema is a separate ticket, in the visitor centre before the shuttle. See it on the way up.
Visitor Centre and the Baodingshan shuttle：Baodingshan's only entrance since 1 November 2025, on Baotang Avenue, 3.5 km by road below the cliff. The shuttle up is compulsory and not in any ticket: 22 yuan return or 12 single on the posted list, though the city set a new ceiling of 30 yuan in June 2026 — go by the price on the day. The return shuttle leaves from the old-street car park, not where you got off. Set your navigation to it, not to Baodingshan.
Dazu South railway station：The only high-speed station for now, 30-40 minutes from Chongqing West or Shapingba — but 35 km from town and about 45 km from the visitor centre. Bus 204 into town takes 63 minutes; the full bus chain to Baodingshan takes about two hours, or take a taxi. Book the train back before you go up the hill.
One by one
Baodingshan
宝顶山The reason to come to Dazu. The whole cliff was planned as one sequence by a single monk, and the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, the reclining Buddha and the vivid hell scenes are the last great burst of Chinese cave carving. The catch is the logistics: one entrance, a shuttle you must pay for, a passport window that is also the refund window on busy days, and a 16:00 ticket cut-off. Arrive before 11:00, see the museum on the way up, and allow three to four hours. For every first visit.
Open the place →Beishan
北山A gallery for people who like to look closely, not a spectacle — if you only have an afternoon, Baodingshan wins. But it sits on the same combined ticket, is a tenth as crowded, and is close to town, so with a full day it is the natural pair: the research institute's own advice is to see Beishan first and avoid Baodingshan's 11:00-15:00 peak. The lit night session is the reason to stay over, but check the notices first — it closed for maintenance in both 2025 and 2026. For a full day with Baodingshan, or an evening if you stay in Dazu.
Open the place →Nanshan
南山A small hilltop of Southern Song Daoist carving close to town, with the Sanqing cave — the reason it exists — open again since 1 August 2026. At 30 yuan and never crowded, it is an easy extra hour; but if you only have one day, spend that hour at Beishan. For a second visit, or anyone interested in Daoism.
Open the place →Shimenshan and Shizhuanshan
石门山 · 石篆山Fine carving and hardly anyone there, but 20 km out each, in opposite directions, at 30 yuan each and on no combined ticket — which is why they are second-visit material. With a car you can do Shizhuanshan in the morning, Nanshan at midday and Shimenshan in the afternoon; without one, choose Shimenshan, which has a bus. Ring the hill office before you set off. For a second visit with a car.
Open the place →