Li Tower

Li Tower

Li Tower is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

Li Tower: Located at No. 130 Lita Street, Songjiang District, Shanghai, historical records also refer to it as "Li Tower"

According to the *Songjiang County Annals*: The tower has seven stories and four sides, inheriting the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty, stands over 30 meters tall, and is built with a brick-and-wood structure. Its shape is similar to that of the Square Tower. Around the tower’s body are brick carvings of Buddhist statues in various sizes, totaling about 200. The stone pillars at the base of the first floor are inscribed with the names of donors, and the bricks of the tower also bear the names of contributors. The internal staircases, balconies, and other structures have been destroyed, and the outer eaves and railings are also severely damaged, with bricks and rotten wood often falling during strong winds. According to the *Songjiang Prefecture Annals* from the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty, quoting Huang Zhijun’s *Record of Yanshou Temple*: “It is said that Li Tower was named after Prince Cao of the Tang Emperor Taizong, who served as the Prefect of Suzhou, hence the tower was named after his surname. It is believed the tower predates the temple.” It was renovated and rebuilt during the Song Dynasty. Further major repairs were carried out during the Yuan and Ming periods. The current structure is largely from the Song Dynasty.

According to the *Zhengde Era Songjiang Prefecture Annals* (Ming Dynasty): Yanshou Temple was located in Lita Hui, southwest of the prefecture. In the sixth year of the Jiading era of the Song Dynasty, Monk Yuansin came from Dinghai and settled here. A wealthy local family, the Qians, donated the land for its construction. Initially named Cheng’an, it was also called Yuantong. During the Bao? and Xianchun eras, Monk Ruzhan first changed its name to the current one. In the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty, Qian Daxin, who served as the assistant magistrate of Xinchang Prefecture, wrote a record of it, but it was later destroyed in war. Monk Zhao rebuilt it. The temple was located near the post road, and locals would visit here as part of their religious observances. The place is called Lita Hui, presumably also because of Prince Cao Ming—see details in the shrine section. It should be noted that the *Zhengde Era Songjiang Prefecture Annals* does not have a shrine section. However, in Volume 15 on Altars and Temples, there is the following text: “Li Tower Temple: According to the *Suzhou Annals · Wujiang Zhaoling Marquis Temple*, citing ancient texts, it states that the fourteenth son of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Ming, was initially enfeoffed as Prince Cao. In the second year of Tiaolu (680), he was demoted to Prefect of Suzhou. In the second year of Xiantian, an imperial decree established a shrine for him in Songjiang. In the fourth year of Kaiping of the Liang Dynasty, he was honored as the Zhaoling Marquis, with twelve designated worship sites. He is sometimes referred to as Prince Cao, or as King Li Ming. Currently, in the bamboo-growing region within the prefecture known as Li Tower, the boundary of King Li Ming Temple is where the worship of Prince Cao Ming takes place.”

In summary, it can be seen that the construction date of Li Tower is unclear. According to Wang Jianmin’s article “A Preliminary Exploration of the Origins of Songjiang’s Li Tower,” published in the second issue of the 1995 *Shanghai Local Chronicles*, it is argued that this tower is likely unrelated to Prince Cao Li Ming, but merely close to his shrine, hence the association and naming as Li Tower. Its construction date is estimated to be the Song Dynasty, possibly around the same time as Songjiang’s Square Tower.

To visit Li Tower, you can enter through the west gate of Yanshou Temple, which is located on Lita Hui Street. There is no entrance fee charged at this gate. The south gate has a ticket booth, but I didn’t see anyone collecting money when I left. Honestly, it doesn’t make much sense for temples to charge admission. The temple complex includes a mountain gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the tower, and the Mahavira Hall. There are no bell or drum towers. The tower is situated in the center, and the temple is built around it.

Li Tower is a brick-and-wood structure, a seven-story square tower with four sides, standing 33 meters tall. Originally, there was a wooden staircase inside the tower that visitors could climb. However, the door is now locked, making it inaccessible. On the walls outside each layer’s arched doorway are embedded 200 Buddha statues in various forms. On the stone pillars and bricks, the names of donors can still faintly be seen. In 1997, with joint funding from the Songjiang County Government and the Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee, the tower was restored. The brick joints were repaired using a mixture of yellow mud and lime, each floor features nanmu (Phoebe nanmu) beams, and wooden beams are placed above the arched doorways, along with a central tower pillar. On the sixth floor, three wooden beams bear the load, and each of the four sides of every floor has an arched doorway leading to the outer balcony. The first floor follows the “inner wall ascending style,” similar to the Square Tower, without a staircase. Visitors must ascend via the surrounding corridor and then climb internal brick steps to reach the second floor. Floors two to seven are hollow-style, with wooden flooring and stairs inside. The tower underwent another round of restoration in the past two years.

In 1999, a temple was restored at the base of the tower and named “Yanshou Temple.” It officially opened to the public in 2001.

On July 18, 1985, Li Tower was designated as a cultural heritage site under the protection of Songjiang County. In April 2002, it was further listed as a cultural heritage site protected by Shanghai Municipality.