Chengdu Suburban Tour | 'Angkor Wat' in Sichuan that you can visit without leaving the province

Deyang Stone Carving Park Deyang city may not have a tourist spot as popular as Sanxingdui, but there are still a few lesser-known yet very distinctive attractions. One is the largest Confucian temple in the southwest region, and another is the Deyang Stone Carving Park, known as the 'Angkor Wat of China'. The park was established in 1986, originally known as Shiniu Park, and is a key park in Sichuan Province. In the center of the park is a sculpture shaped like a stone ox. The park covers an area of 112,000 square meters, with a green space of about 65,000 square meters, making it a large-scale art complex. In fact, this is a typical park in the Chengdu area, where many uncles and aunties exercise, relax, and stroll with children. Of course, there are tea gardens, and there are really a lot of people drinking tea. Drinking tea and playing cards under the big trees has become an essential part of life for the people of Sichuan. The park is planted with nearly ten thousand trees such as banyan, ginkgo, camphor, osmanthus, and peach trees. It contains a stone carving art wall, divided into two groups of large sculptures, 'Eastern Soul' and 'Chinese Soul'. The 'Eastern Soul' stone carving group consists of 35 round arches, 32 coiled dragon stone columns, 12 granite zodiac columns at the Ox Head Gate, and two groups of large bas-reliefs 'Song of Life' and 'Light of Wisdom'. The 'Chinese Soul' stone carving group starts with 'Pangu Creating the World' and 'Nuwa Mending the Sky', successively displaying fifty-six Chinese ethnic groups, over a thousand typical figures, and touching stories passed down from these ethnic groups. The stone carvings inside are indeed very distinctive, with rich and varied shapes. When the weather is good, there are too many people taking photos, all 'dressed to the nines', and you basically have to queue for a good spot. The stone carving art wall in the park is over 1080 meters long and 7 meters high, consisting of the Ox Gate, Song of Life, Art Corridor, Light of Wisdom, Chinese Soul, and the Twelve Zodiac Columns, hailed as 'a treasure of Eastern art and a crystallization of human wisdom'. The opening hours of Deyang Stone Carving Park are 9:00-17:00, and admission is free. There are parking spaces nearby, but not many, and it is very difficult to find parking on holidays. The park is not very large, and if you don't take photos, a walk around might only take 30 minutes. There are not many attractions in Deyang city, so it is recommended to focus on Sanxingdui for tourism. If you are from Chengdu, it is suggested to just do a suburban tour.