Be sure to protect the Dazu Rock Carvings

The last time I went back to my hometown on New Year’s Day, a billboard on the highway read: “We must protect the Dazu Rock Carvings.” Among the many advertisements promoting various products such as wine, real estate, switches, etc., it was like a clear spring, washing away In the heart.

The gentleman said: This sentence must have been said by someone. I checked online and found out that it was indeed said by a senior leader when he visited Chongqing in a certain year. He had visited the Dazu Rock Carvings before, so he left such a sentence.

When I was in high school, on May Day and National Day every year, with a student ID for only 5 yuan, I could save more than 100 yuan of tickets, which is equivalent to visiting the world cultural heritage for free. So, that’s where we hang out with our friends. There were a lot of people, and we couldn’t understand the stones, so we just followed other people’s tour guides. At that time, the tour guide was still shouting with a loudspeaker. One year, my husband, I and several classmates in the class also went on a trip.

When I went back this time, my husband said that he wanted to see the stone carvings and asked the tour guide to give a good explanation. The two children didn't want to go, so they stayed at their grandmother's house, and they happened to revisit the old place with their husband (although they were not with him at that time).

I remember that on the way to the stone carvings, there was a strawberry planter. That year, my husband and I went to pick strawberries. The price was 3 yuan per pound. I only picked completely red ones, regardless of size, while my husband picked them behind. When eating, choose the big one. However, even after walking to the entrance of the scenic spot, I still couldn't find the place where I used to pick strawberries. The road is much wider than before, and the place has changed a long time ago.

In the past, to go to the stone carvings, you had to walk ten minutes from school to a bridge and take a bus. There were a lot of people on the bus and it didn't go very fast. We stopped and stopped all the way and felt that the road carved in stone was very far. However, when I drove this time, I realized that it was so close, only a ten-minute drive away.

The gate of the scenic spot has completely changed its appearance. In the past, when the bus drove to the mountain gate, we had to walk on a long stone road. There were many merchants selling specialties on both sides of the road. Most of them sold winter vegetable tips, stone art, carvings, dragon water knives, etc. This time the car drove to the parking lot of the scenic spot, walked forward, crossed the bridge, and went directly to the entrance of the scenic spot. At first glance, this place looks newly built, and there is nothing familiar about it.

I hired a tour guide, checked in and entered the scenic spot, and finally found familiar scenery. It turns out that the entrance to the stone carvings was changed to the bottom of the valley. Before, we entered from the top entrance and walked all the way to the bottom of the valley. The previous entrance was changed to an exit, and the current entrance is a newly built road reopened in the mountains.

Following the tour guide, for the first time, I clearly understood the background of the seal carvings of these stone statues and their meanings. In the past, I just watched the excitement.

Along the way, many stone statues were weathered, their clothes lost their former color, their facial features were blurred, and some even had their entire heads weathered and disappeared. This is the result of the manpower and material resources spent on protecting the stone carving scenic spot every year.

Thousand-Hand Guanyin has been restored in recent years. I have watched documentaries before and spent a lot of money, many people and many years. It's really impressive, completely different from what I saw when I was studying.

I used to never understand why tickets were so expensive for just a few stones. Thinking about it now, the ticket money is far from enough to maintain the stone carvings. There is no profit here, but it has very important research significance and the value of warning the world.

The Dazu Rock Carvings, as one of the eight largest grottoes in the world, are not inferior to the Mogao Grottoes in terms of artistic and cultural value. If you have the chance, you must go and see it, and be sure to ask the tour guide to explain it carefully. I believe you will learn something.

Perhaps after many years, these stone statues will gradually weather and lose their former appearance. This is a loss of culture. Therefore, we must protect the Dazu Rock Carvings. This is to protect our cultural heritage and the splendid culture of the Chinese nation that will disappear from history.