North Temple Pagoda in Wuzhong

North Temple Pagoda in Wuzhong

The North Temple Pagoda in Wuzhong is a cultural tourism attraction.

The North Temple Pagoda is located in Beita Park and is a Chinese pavilion-style Buddhist pagoda, known as the “Foremost Ancient Temple in Wuzhong.” It was first built during the Three Kingdoms period and is said to have been constructed by Sun Quan in gratitude to his mother, hence its original name, Baoying Temple Pagoda. Standing 76 meters tall with eight sides and nine stories, it dominates the scenery of the Jiangnan region. Climbing to the top offers panoramic views of the entire city.

Around the pagoda, some halls and buildings of the Baoying Temple, reconstructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties, still remain. The Immortal Buddha Hall, not stained by dust, commonly known as the Nanmu (Phoebe nanmu) Buddha Hall, is located to the east of the pagoda. Originally built in the 23rd year of the Shaoxing era in the Southern Song Dynasty, the current structure was reconstructed during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty and is the most well-preserved Ming Dynasty architecture in Suzhou. The hall features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, is five bays wide and five bays deep, with an inner four-rafter frame, a front eave corridor, eave height of 7 meters, and corner-rounded stone columns around the perimeter, while the inner columns are made of nanmu. To the south of the Buddha Hall is a long corridor displaying the largest giant lacquer carving in China, the “Prosperous Suzhou” also known as the “Picture of Suzhou’s繁华,” which is 32 meters long and over 2 meters high. Behind the pagoda stands the rare Yuan Dynasty stone carving, the “Zhang Shicheng Meritorious Deeds Stele.” To the north of the pagoda are the Ancient Bronze Buddha Hall and the Scripture Depository. The Ancient Bronze Buddha Hall once housed bronze statues of the Three Buddhas of the Past, Present, and Future. It has a single-eaved gable-and-hip roof, a观音兜 (Guanyin hood) gable wall, and beams and ridge decorations that reflect Huizhou architectural style. The Scripture Depository is a double-eaved hip-and-gable tower-style building, originally named the Fanxiang Hall. To the northeast of the pagoda lies a garden with steep rocks, winding ponds, and pavilions, corridors, and bridges all in harmony, named the Plum Garden. As for the four-pillar, three-bay, five-story wooden memorial archway facing the street to the south of the pagoda, the three-bay, single-eaved gable-roofed gate hall, and the brick-attached eight-character wall, these were originally part of the front structures of the Shen Shixing Ancestral Hall in Mayike.

Transportation: Accessible via Bus Routes 游1, 游2, 游4, 1, 313 (formerly 3), 8, 502 (formerly 20), 38, 101, 102, and 103, arriving at No. 652 Renmin Road, inside Pingmen.

Tip: After your visit, you can also stop by the adjacent Silk Museum. Ticket/Opening Hours: 15 RMB (excluding pagoda entry), 10 RMB per person for pagoda climbing, combined ticket is 25 RMB per person. Open from 8:00–18:00, ticket sales stop at 17:30.

Jiangsu, Suzhou

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units