Yangling Xingguo Temple Pagoda, Henan

Yangling Xingguo Temple Pagoda was built in the first year of Xiande during the Later Zhou of the Five Dynasties (954 AD). This pagoda is a hexagonal nine-story hollow pavilion-style brick tower, consisting of three parts: the base, the body, and the finial. It stands about 27 meters tall, with a circumference of about 18 meters at the base. The outer bricks are polished and relatively uniform. The base is hexagonal with a waist-like shape. The body of the pagoda gradually narrows with each ascending level. The top is built with overlapping bricks forming a four-cornered pointed roof, topped with an iron gourd-shaped finial. Each level has eaves, under which large brick interlocking and corner brickwork are constructed, along with brick rafters and flying rafters. Above the eaves, there are inverted overlapping brick layers, and close to the pagoda wall, brick decorations shaped like mountain flowers and banana leaves are built. Historically, the Xingguo Temple Pagoda played the role of a feng shui tower to revitalize local culture, functioning to gather water and energy and to suppress water and evil spirits, making it an important cultural landmark locally. At the same time, the pagoda’s construction highlights the advanced ancient techniques in tower load-bearing performance and overall structural strength. This pagoda is one of the few well-preserved Song Dynasty brick pagodas in the Central Plains region and holds significant reference value for studying the development of Song Dynasty architecture and the spread of Buddhist culture. It is a nationally protected key cultural relic.

Post by VictoriaMcDermott99 | Aug 17, 2025