Located in Dazu County, 163 kilometers west of the city proper of Chongqing, the Dazu Rock Carvings are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings. There have been over 50 thousand status and over 100 thousand words in 75 different grottos having been protected. It was built continuously from the first year of the reign of Emperor Yonghui of the Tang Dynasty (7th century A.D) to the Qing Dynasty (17th century); Dazu Grottoes are a beautiful gem in the treasure trove of grotto arts in China. The carvings in a combination of Chinese religions, it contains figures of Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism. It represents the pinnacle of Chinese rock art for their high aesthetic quality. In 1999, the stone grottoes in Dazu entered the world cultural heritage list.