Ciyun Temple Pagoda

Ciyun Temple Pagoda

Ciyun Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Ciyun Temple Pagoda is located in Zhenze Town, Wujiang City. Zhenze, the ancient name for Taihu Lake, shares its name with the lake and boasts a history of over two thousand years. In this small town where canal water flows year-round, cultural relics and historic sites are abundant, among which the most renowned is Ciyun Temple Pagoda.

Ciyun Temple Pagoda is situated within the inner courtyard of the temple’s mountain gate. Upon entering, the pagoda comes into full view — as you look up at its towering spire reaching into the sky, a feeling of reverence naturally arises.

Ciyun Temple Pagoda is a pavilion-style tower with a brick body and wooden eaves. It has six sides and five levels, with a total height of 38.44 meters. The ground floor features a surrounding corridor, each side of which is 7 meters long.

The interior architecture of Ciyun Temple has its own unique features.

The finial of Ciyun Temple Pagoda is exquisitely crafted and proportionally balanced. The finial makes up about one-fourth of the pagoda’s height and consists of an iron inverted bowl, upward lotus petals, five tiers of Buddhist wheels, a canopy, a precious bead, decorative floral elements, and a bronze vase. The upward lotus petals are inscribed with texts from the pagoda’s renovation in the fifth year of the Wanli era during the Ming Dynasty (1577 AD). The bronze vase is gourd-shaped, with four iron chains attached to its four corners, each chain holding a copper bell. When the breeze blows, the bells tinkle melodiously, harmonizing with the wind sounds that echo through the air. The vase, standing over 1 meter tall, features smooth lines, exquisite craftsmanship, and a dignified design, elegantly perched atop the pagoda and adding both a radiant and majestic aura to Ciyun Temple Pagoda.

Many folk tales are associated with Ciyun Temple.

Legend has it that during the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu competed with Liu Bei for supremacy and used the “beauty trap,” pretending to offer his sister in marriage to Liu Bei. However, the plan backfired, and the union became genuine. Sun Quan deeply regretted it and schemed to lure his sister back to Eastern Wu, cutting off her contact with Liu Bei. Lady Sun, missing her husband, fell ill from depression and built a pagoda on the shores of Taihu Lake in Zhenze. She climbed the pagoda daily, gazing into the distance, hoping for Liu Bei to come and rescue her. The locals hence called the pagoda the “Wangfu Pagoda” (Gazing-at-Husband Pagoda).

Another legend says that during the late Northern Song Dynasty, when the Jin general Wuzhu led a massive invasion into the Central Plains, captured Bianjing (modern-day Kaifeng), and took Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong hostage, Princess Ciyun, the daughter of Emperor Huizong, fled to Zhenze for refuge. By then, the original pagoda had already collapsed. Princess Ciyun vowed to rebuild the ancient pagoda and prayed northward, hoping her father and imperial family could safely return south. The pagoda was named after her, and from then on, the name “Ciyun Pagoda” spread widely.

These numerous legends add a touch of mystery to Ciyun Pagoda. Today, Ciyun Temple greets visitors with a fresh new charm.

Zhenze Town: This ancient water town in the Jiangnan region — Zhenze — is located in the southwestern part of Wujiang City, Jiangsu Province, bordering Zhejiang Province. Historically known as the “head of Wu and tail of Yue,” it lies 90 kilometers east of Shanghai and 54 kilometers north of Suzhou. Both National Highway 318 and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal run through the town, offering extremely convenient land and water transportation. Zhenze covers a total area of 57 square kilometers, including a town area of 3.93 square kilometers, nearly 40,000 acres of arable land, and a total population of over 50,000. The town has comprehensive infrastructure, including one 220kV and one 110kV substation, a 25,000-ton surface water plant, mobile communication transmission stations, and more... More detailed information about Zhenze Town++

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units