The base for exploring the Dazu cliff sculptures is DAZU TOWN , 200km from Chengdu and 100km from Chongqing. A nondescript place with a centre only a few hundred metres across, Dazu is set along the north side of the mild Laixi River immediately south of Bei Shan, whose carvings can be reached on foot via Bei Jie. Baoding Shan is 16km off to the east, connected to Dazu by frequent minibuses through the day (¥2; last one back leaves Baoding Shan around 5pm).

Dazu's main bus station is by the bridge on the south bank, a four-hour haul from Chongqing, or eight hours from Chengdu's Xinnanmen station. Accommodation is expensive and limited (as far as foreigners are concerned) to the recently rebuilt Dazu Binguan (¥100-150) and the similar Beishan Binguan (¥300-500), both left out of the bus station, over the bridge and down on the right. For food , try the hotels or the dozen or so restaurants along the main streets.