Ancient Pagoda Legacy · Lizard Shadows in Autumn

📍Detailed Address: Xihu Village, Yanshou Town, Changping District, Beijing

🌟Highlights: Yingshan Pagoda Forest is named "Yingshan" because the giant rocks on the mountain top are silver-white, resembling solidified molten iron, and the mountain shape looks like an inverted giant bell. Since the Liao and Jin dynasties, it has been a Buddhist sacred site. The pagoda forest is a collective name for the many Buddhist pagodas on Yingshan, with 18 ancient pagodas still existing. Among them, the five Jin dynasty Buddhist pagodas are the most famous, with elegant shapes and are treasures of ancient Chinese architecture.

📜The October sky is clear and bright, with not a single cloud on the deep blue canvas. The valley is quiet, and one ancient pagoda after another rises from the depths of time. The mottled pagoda bodies are engraved with the marks of time, and the flying eaves and dougong brackets reveal the weight and vicissitudes of history. The shadows of the pagodas stretch obliquely across the stone brick ground, intertwining with the sparse figures of visitors, adding a touch of solitude.

Occasionally, the wind stirs, swirling a few fallen leaves in front of the pagodas. The stone brick ground is warmed by the sunlight, and lizards peek out from the cracks, their golden scales shimmering faintly in the light. They nimbly dart among the stones, sometimes pausing to gaze at the ancient pagodas, sometimes swiftly chasing light and shadow, as if they are spirits of this ancient valley, adding vitality and liveliness to this silent land. The footsteps of visitors startle one or two lizards, which quickly hide in the cracks, leaving behind a faint rustling sound.

Post by Howard Laura Laur | Oct 24, 2025