Everything Chinese Portal

Cliff paintings of Guizhou are mostly distributed along Chishui River in north Guizhou. In ancient times, salt that Guizhou people fed on were all imported from the neighboring province of Sichuan and Chishui River was the most convenient waterway to transport it. In order to pray for safety, Buddhist figures were carved on cliffs along the river. Buddhist statues also appear on cliff rocks of other parts of the province, which were created against natural shapes of rocks.

An image of deer in the rock paiting of Huamaya Cliff

During the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911), important official documents and announcements as well as village rules were often carved on stone tablets so that they could be handed down to generations to come. Those stone tablets on cliffs, either in Chinese or in local ethnic languages, provide valuable references for the study of indigenous ethnic cultures and societies as well as the spread of Han culture in the region.

An image of tigers in the rock paintings of Maolaoke

Among thousands of cliff carvings, stone tablets featuring village rules on environment protection boast the largest number. Those local rules were mostly involved with the protection of forests as well as mineral resources and water conservancy facilities, facilitating the study of the relationship between local ethnic groups and the natural environment in Guizhou. There are also many stone tablets recording wedding and festival traditions and customs of local ethnic minorities.