Jinzhou Liao Pagoda

Jinzhou Liao Pagoda

The Jinzhou Liao Pagoda is located in front of the Da Guangji Temple. According to a Ming Jiajing-era stele (written by Xuan-Da Regional Inspector Wen Gui), Jin Dynasty’s Middle Pacification Official Gao Lian once wrote a “Pagoda Record” stating that the pagoda was built in the third year of the Qingning era of Emperor Daozong of Liao (1507), to enshrine the sarira (relics) bestowed by the empress. The pagoda is a solid brick structure with closely stacked eaves, currently standing 57 meters tall, with an octagonal body. Each side is carved with a Buddha flanked by attendants, three canopies, and two flying apsaras soaring above. The main Buddha sits serenely in the niche, while the attendants stand solemnly beside it. The pagoda has thirteen tiers of eaves, each corner of which originally had a nanmu beam supporting the eave corners below, with copper bells hanging beneath—most of which have now fallen off, with only 11 remaining on the northwest corner. The pagoda top was shattered by Ming army cannons during the Yongle era. The brick carvings of beams, columns, brackets, and floral decorations on the pagoda have also largely fallen away. The base was repaired with blue bricks in 1933. The ancient pagoda is grand in scale and is the tallest historical building in western Liaoning.

Location

At the summit of Shuangta Mountain, Guta District, Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province