The recent Chongqing premiere of For an Eternal Homeland — Dazu Rock Carvers' Legacy has been hailed by the audiences and critics as a spectacle that brings the ancient figures of the Dazu Rock Carvings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to life.

Through a blend of artistry and narrative, this dance drama has been recognized by many as a successful reimagining and revitalization that allows the historical treasure to shine anew.

Zhang Yaqi, artistic director of the dance drama, says that the collaboration between the municipality of Chongqing and the China Oriental Performing Arts Group, a national performing arts institution, was developed over a two-year period and pays tribute to Dazu's stone carvers.

The performance is themed on celebrating the ancient philosophical vision of an ideal society: renjian xiaoman; tianxia dazu, (literally "small satisfaction in human life; grand prosperity and abundance in the world").

The Dazu Rock Carvings include the 144 grottoes, 50,000 statues and 100,000 inscriptions found in Chongqing's Dazu district.

Begun during the early Tang Dynasty (618-907) and reaching its peak during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), these extensive carvings amalgamate Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist sculptures.

The UNESCO designation was awarded in 1999. Along with the Mogao Caves in Gansu province, the Longmen Grottoes in Henan province, and the Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi province — all similarly designated — the Dazu Rock Carvings are considered an essential part of the history of cave art in China.

The 10-chapter, 100-minute dance drama is the tale of a young refugee named Xiao Fu. Fleeing to Dazu during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), he seeks sanctuary among local rock carvers, embracing their simple joys and aspirations for a brighter tomorrow. However, when a rockslide occurs, he pledges to immortalize the names of his departed family members by carving them on the cliffs, ensuring their memory lasts forever.

"The stage presentation was challenging, with a deep sense of reverence. We drew inspiration from the details of the carvings, capturing their lifelike appearances," Zhang says.

She adds that every aspect, from characters and costumes to design, movements and props, was created to reflect the poetic essence of these portrayals of everyday rural life.

For instance, figures such as the flute-playing woman, the chicken-raising woman, the cattle herder, and the woman wine seller, as well as Graceful Guanyin (Avalokitesvara, or the Goddess of Mercy), Water-moon Guanyin, and the Buddhist monk Zhigong (418-514) are brought to life in the drama.

The 40 performers, 18 women and 22 men, radiate an ancient charm that encapsulates the aesthetics of the Song Dynasty, according to Zhang, who adds that the production included some core members of the team behind another hit, Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting.

A large mirror onstage was used as a backdrop, according to Gao Guangjian, the drama's visual director and set designer.

A variety of multimedia techniques was used to create a distinct realm, enabling the exploration of the dynamic interplay between reality and faith.

"The Dazu Rock Carvings are a priceless treasure, and belong to humanity," says Li Fangyin, former director of Dazu Rock Carvings Research Institute.

"Their deep content, such as philosophical ideas, humanistic principles, values and morals, helped us to further tap their worth through creative efforts," Li adds.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the country has increasingly focused on the conservation and use of cultural heritage and grotto temples.

According to Li, more than 30 protection projects have been carried out at the Dazu Rock Carvings over the past two decades, resulting in marked progress on the protection, research, and use of the site.

The Qianshou Guanyin (Thousand-hand Avalokitesvara) statue, carved during the Southern Song Dynasty, is a treasure of Baoding Mountain, one of the sites part of Dazu. In June 2015, after an 8-year national project to conserve its stone relics, aided by technology, salvage efforts were completed. That year, the Art Museum of Dazu Rock Carvings was opened.

After 16 years of surveys and research by experts at the research institute, Dazu Shike Quanji (A Collection of Dazu Rock Carvings) was published by Chongqing Publishing Group in 2019, the first Chinese archaeological report about large grotto temple sites.

In recent years, several international academic symposiums have been held in Chongqing and Ziyang, Sichuan province, to integrate cultural tourism and preservation.

Last August, the first International Forum on Cave Temple Conservation kicked off in Dazu. Experts from countries, including Norway, the United Kingdom, Japan, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Nepal, convened to share insights and address common challenges in the global conservation of grotto temples.

Chongqing's Dazu and Ziyang city in Sichuan are known for their stone carvings — 150,000 in all — among which the Anyue Grottoes in Ziyang's Anyue county have been included in the provisional list of UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage Sites.

The Sichuan-Chongqing Grotto Protection and Research Center has been established and has organized 20 international forums and academic exchange studies in Dazu. It is also responsible for publishing the academic journal Cave Temple Research and Conservation.

"The fusion of traditional art and modern technology has led to many changes," Li says, citing the example of Black Myth: Wukong.

The game's production team explored the Dazu Rock Carvings three years ago, and set many scenes in the hit game there.

After its three-day premiere from Feb. 21 to 23 in Chongqing, the drama will travel to 10 more cities, including Chengdu, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Nanchang in Jiangxi province, Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Fuzhou and Xiamen in Fujian province, as well as Changsha in Hunan province. A total of 100 performances are planned for the year.