"Must-visit ancient pagoda: Yingxian Wooden Pagoda Tour"

#MarchGoodPlaces2025


That day I came to Shanxi Province and visited the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, Shuozhou City, an ancient building known as the "Yingxian Fogong Temple Sakyamuni Pagoda". The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is one of the oldest and tallest pure wooden structure pavilion-style buildings in the world. It was built in the second year of Qingning during the reign of Emperor Dao Zong of the Liao Dynasty in 1056 AD, and has a long history of 950 years.

This wooden tower was built under the supervision of Empress Dowager Xiao. At first, people were curious about why the tower was built here. One theory is that it was to highlight the status of imperial power, while another theory is that it was out of strategic needs, as this was once an ancient battlefield and building a tower could be used to defend against enemy invasions. There is also a legend that it is to pray for disaster relief and to put an end to the war. Whatever the reason, the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, as a Buddhist pagoda, can perhaps be most reasonably explained as promoting Buddhism.

The wooden tower is 67.31 meters high, with an octagonal plane and a bottom floor diameter of 30.27 meters. It stands majestically on a 4-meter-high square stone base. There are spiritual beasts surrounding the tower. Standing on the south platform of the base, there are several stones in front of you, including "Yunhan Stone", "Bagua Stone" and "Meteorite". Each stone has a legend, adding more mystery to the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. For example, the long white line in the center of the "Yunhan Stone" is said to be the trace of excavation of the foundation, and the "Bagua Stone" is engraved with the Bagua diagram, which is said to be a relic of the Liao Dynasty. There is also a "meteorite" story that explains that it fell from the sky after the tower was built, foreshadowing the auspicious completion of the tower.

The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda is not only magnificent in architecture, but also has a fascinating legend behind each stone, adding more mystery to this magical wooden pagoda. After visiting the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, I was filled with awe and curiosity about this ancient building. I hope to have the opportunity to visit it again and continue to explore its mysteries.


#Yingxian Wooden Pagoda #Shanxi Tourism #Shanxi Province #China Travel

Post by Hugh L | Apr 2, 2025