Shanshan Temple Pagoda

Shaoxing Shanshan Temple Pagoda

Shaoxing Shanshan Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Shanshan Temple Pagoda is located on Ziyu Road in downtown Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. Originally built within Shanshan Temple, it was thus named. Today, the temple is gone but the pagoda remains. The pagoda was first constructed in the third year of the Tianjian era during the Liang Dynasty (504 AD), and has been repeatedly built and destroyed.

The current pagoda was rebuilt in the first year of the Shaoding era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1228 AD), and underwent renovations in the first year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1403 AD) and the eighth year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1669 AD). It is a brick-and-wood structure pavilion-style pagoda, hexagonal with seven stories, standing 40.5 meters tall, with the base side measuring 3.8 meters. Each of the six sides at the base features a door, and there are doors on each level above the base. The pagoda is richly adorned with carvings. The steeple is particularly striking. In 1957, partial repairs were carried out, leaving only the brick sections intact.

In October 2019, Shanshan Temple Pagoda was designated as part of the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units