When it comes to China, there are plenty secrets that wait to be discovered, numerous hidden locations and monuments. If you have been to China several times or you are just looking for something new, these attractions will surely raise your interest. Here is your chance to explore the untamed China, one attraction at a time.

The Dazu Rock Carvings
Located in Dazu County, near the city of Chongqing – China, The Dazu Rock Carvings dating back as far as the 7th century A.D., are a magnificent series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings all giving historic proof of combined architectural styles of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. It contains 75 protected sites with some 50,000 carved statues, the most important and beautiful being the carvings found on Mount Baoding and Mount Beishan.

Leshan Buddha
Clearly one of the most amazing stone sculptures carved out of a cliff, The Leshan Giant Buddha that faces Mount Emei at the confluence of 3 rivers in the southern part of Sichuan-China, was built during the Tang Dynasty. This seated Maitreya Buddha is 233 feet tall and 28 metres wide at his shoulders, and through its magnitude and location is considered the very heart of the mountain itself.

Yungang Grottoes
Placed near the city of Datong in the Chinese province of Shanxi, these Yungang Grottoes are also representative of the incredible Buddhist culture. Made during the Northern Wei Dynasty, in the 252 grottoes there is an incredible display of no less than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes, all representative for the 5th and 6th century. The incredible large number and the heights at which the statues are carved into a gray cold looking stone make it a really impressive statement of Buddhist culture.

Mogao Caves
Also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, these caves located southeast of the center of Dunhuang hold as well beautiful and incredibly valuable examples of Buddhist art this time representative of numerous centuries from 366 CE, originally designed to place scriptures and art. The facade holds in the center above the entrance a look alike side of a Chinese pagoda and embraced on both sides by two incredible carved walls in a rather light peaceful yellow color.

The Summer Palace
Also called the Yihe Yuan, this magnificent palace from Beijing spans over 2.9 square kilometers and includes Kunming Lake and the Longevity Hill, with various attractions from impressive constructions, large gardens to unique architectural structures after being originally a vast garden that was rebuilt and served as a summer palace for Empress Dowager Cixi; the latter improved and expanded the location turning the palace in one of the most impressive ones in Chinese history .

For more information about attractions not to be missed in Beijing this Olympics check out the 2008 Beijing Olympics Guidebook

photo sources: Wikimedia commons, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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