Lingguang Pagoda

Lingguang Pagoda

Lingguang Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Lingguang Pagoda is located on the hilltop to the northwest of the county seat in Changbai Korean Autonomous County, Jilin Province.

Lingguang Pagoda was built during the Tang Dynasty by the Bohai Kingdom and is the oldest existing ancient pagoda in Northeast China. The pagoda faces south and overlooks the Yalu River. It is a brick pagoda with closely spaced eaves, designed in the style of a multi-story pavilion and featuring a square base. Today, five stories remain, with a total height of nearly 13 meters. The pagoda tapers inward from the bottom up, with the first story being the tallest at approximately 2.8 meters. Each level features overlapping eaves that extend outward, slightly upturned at the corners, creating an elegant and graceful appearance. The front of the first story has an arched doorway about 1.65 meters high and 0.9 meters wide. The four sides of the first story are adorned with large brown patterned bricks. The east and west sides are engraved with lotus petal designs, while the north and south sides feature scroll cloud motifs. The outlines of these decorative bricks resemble Chinese characters, and when read counterclockwise starting from the west side, they spell out the phrase "Wang Li Guo Tu" (王立国土), meaning "The King establishes the land." The second through fifth stories each have a square lattice window centered on all four sides. The top of the fifth story features a stupa finial added in modern times, made by joining two hemispherical metal bowls together to form a gourd-like shape. Originally, the pagoda had no base platform; the current one was added in 1953. The construction of Lingguang Pagoda serves as historical evidence of the prevalence of Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty Bohai Kingdom and stands as an example of high-rise architecture from that period, holding significant historical and cultural value. (National Cultural Heritage Administration)

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units