Dafo Temple Quarry

This is one of the smaller locations, but the tool markings and quarry process show similar features to the larger sites. The official story is that site is the location of 1600 year old Buddhist temple, Dafo si.

“The stone statue of Buddha Maitreya was cut based on the mountain and has a history dating back over 1500 years. It was praised by the famous literary critic of the southern dynasties Liu Xie as “a unique treasure of incomparable merit” and was dubbed by later generations as the no 1. giant buddha in Southern China. The adjacent Thousand-buddha temple has 1075 stone statues of Buddha and is known as the Dunhuan Grottoes. In 2013, both were added to the list of key cultural relics subject to national protection.”

ref. Dafo area signage