Stone carving art is an important part of China's splendid ancient culture.the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang,located in Gansu Province,has always been known as"world-renowned".There is also such a place in Sichuan,China，which is just like a pearl from the sea and needs to be discovered for its unique mystery.Anyue County is subordinate to Ziyang City,Sichuan Province,and located at the midpoint of Chengdu and Chongqing.In recent years,with the discovery of a large number of grottoes and stone carvings,Anyue County has also won the title of"Hometown of Chinese Stone Carving Art".There are tens of thousands of grottoes and statues here.The earliest excavation of Anyue stone carvings can be traced back to the Han Dynasty,and has gone through the most prosperous periods of the Tang and Song dynasties."Ancient,abundant,refined,and beautiful"are the biggest characteristics of Anyue stone carvings.Most stone carvings are Buddhist statues,which also include a small number of Taoist statues.Some unique and representative statues,while breaking the solemnity and solemnity of Buddhist culture,incorporate local and secular colors,Reflects the"true face"of folk culture thousands of years ago.

Yuanjue Cave is located on the Yunju Mountain,1 km southeast of Anyue County.It is mainly composed of statues from the Northern Song Dynasty.Currently,there are 103 cliff cave niches,1933 statues of various sizes,25 inscriptions,and a Buddhist pagoda in the Tang Dynasty.Among them,the most spectacular statues are those of Sakyamuni Buddha,Jingping Guanyin Statue,and Lotus Hand Guanyin Statue,all about 7 meters high.The common characteristics of the three statues are:opening large caves and chiseling large statues.

The statue of the Three Living Buddhas in the Yuanjue Cave

Sakyamuni Grottoes

According to the commentator of the scenic spot,the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha in front of us is the largest standing Buddha statue in ancient China,with benevolent eyebrows,phoenix eyes,and a smile on the face.This statue originated from the allusion of"picking flowers and smiling"in the"Five Lanterns Meeting Yuan,Seven Buddhas,Sakyamuni Buddha"by Song Shi Puji,and was restored to a concrete object in the Anyue Stone Carvings.The characteristics of the statue of the Pure Bottle Guanyin are extremely rare among Chinese Buddhist statues.Guanyin casually lifts the Pure Bottle in her hand,breaking the inherent image of Guanyin holding the Pure Bottle and sitting upright.The Lotus Hand Guanyin statue is the most well preserved and beautifully colored statue in the entire Yuanjue Cave.

Jingping Guanyin Grottoes

Lotus Hand Avalokitesvara Statue

Sleeping Buddha Statue

Anyue County is currently striving to create a"Tianfu Tourism Famous County",and the most eye-catching Anyue Grottoes Digital Center project is in full swing.It is understood that the digital exhibition center project of Anyue Grottoes focuses on the AAAA tourist attraction of Yuanjue Cave,and displays the ancient,rich,refined and beautiful essence of Anyue Grottoes by modern digital means.The Anyue Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center Project has a total investment of 2.17 billion yuan,covering an area of about 500 mu,and is constructed in two phases.The main construction contents include the digital exhibition center of the grottoes(8K3D ball screen cinema,visitor reception hall,BOXFILM),grotto cultural exchange center,grotto themed cultural and creative center(Meta Universe Platform),grotto themed cultural and creative catering,urban cultural living room,museum,music square,Dadi Art Festival,Anyue immersive cultural consumption area,Anyue grotto cultural theme park,and other projects.

Planning Map of Anyue Grottoes Digital Center Project

Stone carving scenic spots throughout Anyue County are widely distributed,making it difficult for tourists to fully appreciate them at one time.The construction of the Anyue Grottoes Digital Center project has provided great convenience for tourists to fully understand the stone carving culture.The entire project system investment is divided into physical engineering construction,digitization,and film shooting.

"In the future,when tourists come to Anyue to visit stone carvings,they can first go to the Cultural Exchange Center and the Digital Exhibition Center to have an in-depth understanding of the entire Anyue stone carving culture,and then visit the scenic spots,greatly improving the tourists'sense of experience."said Li Wusong,project manager of the Anyue Grottoes Digital Exhibition Center.According to the current construction progress,the first phase of the project will be put into use around May next year.

In recent years,relying on technological empowerment,digital tourism has become an obvious development trend.As a national key cultural relics protection unit,the protection and utilization of stone carvings is a key issue.Now,3D printing technology is used to reproduce stone carvings in equal proportions,not only preserving existing intact statues for long-term research,but also inheriting the enduring stone carving culture of the Chinese nation.

Currently,there are 917 cultural relics in the entire Anyue County.Among them,there are 10 key cultural relics protection units,30 provincial cultural relics protection units,and 28 municipal and county cultural relics protection units;There are 177 grotto temples,including 8 national key grotto temple cultural relics protection units,19 provincial grotto temple cultural relics protection units,and 13 municipal and county level grotto temple cultural relics protection units.

It is reported that Anyue County is deeply implementing the spirit of documents such as the"Outline of the Planning for the Chengdu-Chongqing Double City Economic Circle",the"Guiding Opinions on Strengthening the Protection and Utilization of Grottoes"issued by the General Office of the State Council,and the"14th Five Year Plan"for Cultural Relics Protection and Technological Innovation,adhering to the policy of"Protection First,Strengthening Management,Excavating Value,Effectively Utilizing,and Revitalizing Cultural Relics"in the new era,and implementing the"Grottoes China"protection project The"Ping An Grottoes"project and the"Digital Grottoes"project have established a four-level linkage responsibility system for counties,townships,villages,and cultural protection units,effectively implementing the scope of cultural relics protection,protection signs,records,and management institutions,and achieving full coverage of the"four haves"of cultural relics.At the same time,the Anyue Grottoes Protection Center will accelerate the deployment of equipment such as cultural relics administrators and video monitoring equipment,and establish a"four defense"cultural relics protection mechanism for civil air defense,technical defense,physical defense,and dog defense.

In addition,the Anyue Grottoes Protection Center will comprehensively strengthen talent team construction and strengthen school-local cooperation,establish an Anyue Cultural Relics Protection and Utilization Expert Think Tank,establish a strategic cooperation mechanism for the Anyue Dazu Cultural Relics Protection Expert Think Tank,establish an Anyue Workstation of the Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Restoration of the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage,and establish a teaching and scientific research base of the College of Archaeology,Culture,and Museum of Sichuan University,gradually forming a high-quality talent team system that integrates multiple disciplines and levels.

"When we do cultural relics protection work,we must write it down in the field.As Premier Li Qiang said,'All we encounter while sitting in the office are problems,and all we see through investigation are solutions.'We must have deep feelings,long-term persistence,and the determination and perseverance to sit on the"cold bench"for a long time.".Yang Xiuwei,head of the Cultural Research Section of the Anyue Grottoes Research Institute,said.（Xiao Zhengjun,Ling Xixi）