Xilin Pagoda in Songjiang

Xilin Pagoda in Songjiang

Xilin Pagoda in Songjiang is a cultural relic protection unit of Shanghai Municipality.

Xilin Pagoda (Xilin Ta), also known as Chong'en Pagoda, is located on the east side of Xita Lane along Zhongshan Middle Road in Songjiang Town, Songjiang District. During the Xianchun era of the Southern Song Dynasty, a reception monastery was built here and later renamed Xilin Chan Temple. The pagoda took its name from the temple. In the 20th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1387), the monk Chunhou rebuilt it and renamed it Yuanying Pagoda. It gradually fell into disrepair. During the Zhengtong era (1436–1449), it was renovated. The structure is made of brick and wood, with seven levels and eight sides, standing 46.5 meters tall. Brick stairs are built within the sandwich walls of the pagoda. Except for the wooden terrace and eaves on the top level, which date back to the Ming Dynasty, most of the pagoda is an original Song Dynasty structure.

When restoration preparations began in 1990, it was discovered that the brick body was still original from the Song Dynasty, while the bracket sets, arhat lintels, and eave brackets on each level were all in Ming style—confirming that a major renovation had indeed taken place during the Ming Dynasty. The pagoda features architectural characteristics of both the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but due to years of neglect, only the surrounding wall and the brick body remained intact, with the rest being in a state of disrepair. It has since been fully restored, and a number of important cultural relics have been unearthed. In May 1992, the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Relics Management Committee, together with the Songjiang County Government, established the Xilin Pagoda Restoration Leadership Team and the Pagoda Restoration Office. Renovation work commenced in October 1993. The damaged spire was first removed, and over 50 cultural relics—including gold and silver Buddha statues and jade figurines—were found inside the finial vase. In January 1994, within the brick-built “heavenly palace” beneath the spire’s inverted basin, gold, silver, and bronze Buddha statues, jade discs, and jade rings were discovered; over 500 additional relics were unearthed from the underground chamber, including gold, silver, and bronze Buddha statues, a silver pagoda model, as well as ornaments and decorations made of jade, crystal, agate, and coral.

In 1982, it was listed as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit.