White Lotus Pagoda Temple at West Scenic Zone

White Lotus Pagoda Temple at West Scenic Zone

White Lotus Pagoda Temple at West Scenic Zone is a cultural tourism attraction.

Wuzhen is known for the saying “One Taoist temple, two pagodas, nine temples, and thirteen nunneries.” The one Taoist temple refers to the Xiuzhen Temple in East Scenic Zone, while one of the two pagodas is the White Lotus Pagoda Temple.

Buddhism was introduced to Wuzhen relatively early, with sizable temple constructions appearing as far back as the Liang Dynasty. At its peak in Wuzhen’s history, there were as many as 53 temples, nunneries, shrines, and ancestral halls.

Originally called the Golden Lotus Pagoda Monastery and later renamed the White Lotus Pagoda Temple, it was built during the Chongning era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1102–1106), originally located north of Shijing Pond and west of Tianjing Lane in Wuzhen. Locals often referred to it as the West Pagoda, as it stands in distant correspondence with the Shousheng Pagoda in East Scenic Zone, hence the saying of Wuzhen having an East and West Pagoda.

Introduction

In 2005, the White Lotus Pagoda was relocated and reconstructed in its original style on Huanhe Island by the Grand Canal in West Scenic Zone.

The current White Lotus Pagoda has seven stories and is 51.75 meters tall, making it the tallest building in Wuzhen. Below the pagoda lies the octagonal Rising Lotus Plaza, which features a liberation pond. On the east bank, there is also a stone boat. Approaching Wuzhen by boat along the canal, when you spot the majestic silhouette of the White Lotus Pagoda in the distance, you’ll know you’ve arrived in Wuzhen.

The White Lotus Pagoda is a brick-and-wood hybrid pavilion-style tower common in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Overall, the pagoda has a spindle-like appearance, but its base is actually square, measuring 24 by 24 meters. The interior floor is paved with plain square bricks.

The entire structure tapers inward from the first floor upward. Climbing to the top offers panoramic views of the canal and Wuzhen’s scenery. At night, the pagoda is illuminated, creating a stunning translucent effect.

History: The original White Lotus Pagoda Temple had nine bays and three courtyards. Its main hall was built on a platform over two meters high, giving it a very majestic presence. According to town records, the original shrine of Zhang Jun was also located within the White Lotus Pagoda Temple. Later, after the Qin Hui case, Zhang Jun was implicated, and the shrine was abolished.

The original White Lotus Pagoda had seven stories and stood sixteen zhang tall. It was destroyed during the wars between Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng at Wuzhen in the late Yuan Dynasty. It underwent several reconstructions in subsequent dynasties. During the Xianfeng era, when the Anglo-French Allied Forces attacked Beijing (known as the Gengshen Incident), the temple was burned down in the warfare, and the pagoda became even more tilted.

On June 24 of the seventh year of the Tongzhi reign (1868), it collapsed with a loud crash, having stood for over 760 years.

During the Guangxu reign, several monks worked hard to raise funds and finally completed the mountain gate, front hall, rear hall, and monks’ quarters in the eighteenth year of Guangxu (1892). In the twenty-ninth year of Guangxu (1903), monks raised funds again to cast a large bell weighing a thousand jin, though the donor’s name was not recorded in the town chronicles.

In the late Republican era, military officers once converted the White Lotus Temple into a theater.

Address: Inside West Scenic Zone, Wuzhen, Tongxiang City, Jiaxing

Type: Ancient Temple & Pagoda

Recommended Visit Duration: 0.5–1 hour

Opening Hours:

Summer: 8:00–17:30; Winter: 8:00–17:00. (From after the National Day Golden Week to April, opens until 17:00)

Ticket Information:

No separate ticket required. Included in the West Scenic Zone ticket.

Transportation

Within the town, mainly human-powered tricycles and taxis are available.

Transportation within the scenic zone is mainly on foot or by hand-rowed boat.