BaoBen Pagoda

BaoBen Pagoda

BaoBen Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Zhejiang Province.

BaoBen Pagoda is located on Shapenwei in Donghu Park, Danghu Subdistrict, Pinghu City. It is a temple and pagoda structure from the Qing Dynasty, commonly known as the “Pinghu Pagoda” or “Donghu Pagoda.” Originally built in the 42nd year of the Jiajing reign during the Ming Dynasty (1563), it underwent multiple reconstructions, renovations, and repairs. The existing pagoda was completed in the 27th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1688) and is a pavilion-style literary peak pagoda.

BaoBen Pagoda consists of three parts: a stone base, a brick-and-wood structure body, and an iron spire, with a total height of 49.39 meters, a base diameter of 8.18 meters, and an inner diameter of 3.58 meters. The body is a brick structure imitating wood, with an octagonal floor plan and five stories. The eastern and southern sides have arched doorways for entry and exit, while the other sides feature false archways. The outer walls between floors are built with corbelled bricks in a dentil pattern, with cantilevered brackets supporting wooden eaves. There is a wooden veranda on the outside that visitors can walk around. Inside the pagoda is an octagonal hollow chamber, with each level’s ceiling formed by corbelled brickwork into a dome shape. The top of the pagoda tapers inward to the spire base, with a gray-tiled roof. The spire is 12.74 meters high and consists of an inverted bowl, a precious bead, an upward lotus, seven tiers of disks, a canopy, a finial, and a gourd. During the 2002 maintenance work on the pagoda, four (sets) of precious cultural relics were discovered inside the iron spire, among which the Ming Dynasty’s Yuanjing’s gold-inscribed “Lotus Sutra” was designated as a national first-class cultural relic.

In August 1997, it was announced as part of the fourth batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units