Cishou Pagoda

Cishou Pagoda

• Overlooking the entire city of Zhenjiang, beneath Cishou Pagoda lie the Four Treasures of Jinshan Temple.

Attraction Introduction

Cishou Pagoda is situated at the mountaintop and serves as the iconic symbol of Jinshan. It stands about 36 meters high, built with a brick-and-wood structure, featuring seven levels and eight sides.

Ascend to the top through the internal spiral wooden staircase. Leaning on the railing, you can enjoy a sweeping view of Zhenjiang city, with the mighty river surging eastward and the rolling mountains stretching into the distance, presenting a majestic panorama.

Beneath Cishou Pagoda are the Four Treasures of Jinshan Temple — the Zhou Tripod, the Jinshan Painting, the Bronze Drum, and the Jade Belt.

Background Information: Also known as Jinshan Pagoda, Cishou Pagoda was first built during the Qi and Liang dynasties.

Originally, there were two pagodas at Jinshan, both of which were lost in the early Ming Dynasty. In 1472, Japanese monk-painter Sesshū visited Jinshan and painted “The Dragon’s Roam Chan Temple on the Yangtze River’s Jinshan Island in the Great Tang,” which depicts two pagodas facing each other from north to south.

During the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty, monk Liaoming of the temple rebuilt a pagoda on the site of the former northern pagoda, naming it Cishou Pagoda. This pagoda was destroyed in warfare during the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty.

In the Guangxu era, after five years of effort by Jinshan Temple’s abbot Yinru, and with the financial support of Liu Kunyi, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, the wish to rebuild the pagoda was finally fulfilled. That year coincided with Empress Dowager Cixi’s 60th birthday, so Liu Kunyi had the words “Tian Di Tong Geng” (Same Age as Heaven and Earth), handwritten by an eight-year-old boy named Li Yuan’an from Hunan, engraved on the outer floral wall of Cishou Pagoda as a birthday tribute.

The Song Dynasty poet Wang Anshi once praised it in his poem “Jinshan”: “Several tiers of towers rest upon layered stones, windows on all sides open to the breeze. Suddenly seeing birds fly across level ground, I realize I’m floating mid-air.”

Special Notice

For the sake of cultural relic preservation, Cishou Pagoda is currently not open to the public for climbing.

Address: Within Jinshan Scenic Area, No. 62 Jinshan Road, Runzhou District, Zhenjiang City

Type: Ancient Pagoda

Recommended Visiting Time: About 1–2 hours

Phone: 0511-85512992; 0511-85510248

Official Website: http://www.jspark.cn/

Opening Hours:

8:00-17:00

Ticket Information:

No separate ticket required. Included in the Jinshan Scenic Area admission.