Fushou Palace Kuixing Tower

Fushou Palace Kuixing Tower

Fushou Palace in Liaoyuan was first built in the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign (1897). Through renovations and expansions by eminent Taoist masters over generations, by the eve of liberation, Fushou Palace had taken shape as a large-scale complex. Built against the mountain, it features five traditional palace-style main halls, along with over a hundred auxiliary structures including east and west side halls, bell and drum towers, scripture lecture halls, and dormitories. Additionally, following the mountain’s contour, it includes a three-tiered staircase of 108 steps, connecting all the halls to form a cohesive architectural ensemble, covering an area of over seven acres. The grand halls boast painted beams and carved rafters, upturned eaves and bracket sets, vermilion-painted doors, towering pillars, and dragon carvings along the ridges and ridgeline ornaments, presenting a solemn, majestic, serene, and spectacular sight amid the surrounding greenery. At that time, it enjoyed widespread fame across the Northeast. Unfortunately, in June 1947, Fushou Palace was destroyed in wartime flames, until 1991 when Taoist Master Wang Quanlin vowed to donate funds for its reconstruction.

The Kuixing Tower is located within Fushou Palace at the southern foot of Longshou Mountain and beside the Dongliao River in Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province. Originally built during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was later destroyed in wartime. Reconstructed in 2002, it is a tower-style structure, the largest of its kind both historically and in modern times, and the grandest in Asia—hailed as the foremost tower of the Taoist world. The tower has nine levels, corresponding to the number representing the ultimate yang in the cosmos, aligning with auspicious numerical principles. It stands 69 meters tall, with a base diameter of 40 meters and a body diameter of 24 meters. The overall architecture adheres to Taoist design norms such as the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), Two Modes (Yin and Yang), Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity), Four Symbols, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, and Nine Palaces, as well as the natural numerical order of the Ten Directions. The tower enshrines numerous Taoist deities, including the Supreme Old Lord, the Jade Emperor, Kuixing (the God of Literature), the God of Wealth, and the Goddess of Mercy.

The tower features an architectural style of the Liao Dynasty, incorporating elements of Qing-style color painting techniques and artworks by master painters. It is adorned with white marble railings and crimson pillars, presenting a grand, majestic, and spectacular overall structure. Integrating religion, culture, art, and tourism, it forms a new landmark in the Northeast and has become a sacred site for pilgrims from all directions to worship and pay homage.