Jingde Temple Pagoda

Jingde Temple Pagoda

Jingde Temple Pagoda is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Anhui Province.

Jingde Temple Pagoda is located at the crossroads in downtown Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. Dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty, it stands in the old crossroads area of the city. The pagoda was originally built during the Jin Dynasty, and its name changed along with that of the temple. Initially named Yong’an Pagoda, it was called Kaiyuan Pagoda in the Tang Dynasty, Jingde Temple Pagoda (also known as Duobao Pagoda) in the Song Dynasty, and Yongning Pagoda in the Qing Dynasty. The pagoda has a hexagonal floor plan, nine stories, and is approximately 34 meters tall. The ground floor has an attached platform, with parts of the southwest side still existing. The pagoda’s body features arched doorways, with lamp niches on either side of the doors. Each level of the pagoda is styled with an “arc-shaped body” design. The interior structure is a hollow cylinder, with each floor equipped with wooden flooring supported by intersecting beams. Jingde Temple Pagoda showcases typical architectural styles of the Song Dynasty.

Jingde Temple Pagoda was first built during the Yongning era of the Western Jin Dynasty (302 AD), and its name has changed multiple times over the centuries. Originally called Yong Pagoda, it was renamed several times in accordance with the temple’s title changes—Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda in the Tang Dynasty, Jingde Temple Pagoda (also known as Duobao Pagoda) in the Song Dynasty, and Yongning Pagoda in the Qing Dynasty. The ancient pagoda was originally situated to the right of Kaiyuan Temple and has a history of over 1,700 years. Though the temple was destroyed in war, this thousand-year-old pagoda remains a scenic marvel. To its south are the Xie Tiao Tower and Crocodile Lake, and to its north are the Twin Pagodas of Guangjiao Temple and Mount Jingting. Over the dynasties, literary masters such as Li Bai, Du Mu, Bai Juyi, Wen Tianxiang, Mei Yaochen, and Tang Xianzu, as well as eminent Buddhist monks like Huang Bo and Jianzhen, have all visited and left behind numerous poems and writings.

Jingde Temple Pagoda derives its name from the temple, so one cannot speak of the pagoda without mentioning Jingde Temple—the pagoda would not exist without it. The temple was first built during the Jin Dynasty and was initially called Yong’an Temple. In the early Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Dayuan Temple, then Kaiyuan Temple during the Kaiyuan era, Jingde Temple in the Jingde era of the Song Dynasty, and reverted to Kaiyuan in the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the temple was grand in scale and bustling with worshippers. The county annals of the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu reign recorded: “Today, within the eastern part of the city, north of the street, half the area used to belong to the temple grounds.” The famous late-Tang poet Du Mu, while serving as an official in Xuancheng, frequented the city’s scenic spots and had a particular fondness for Kaiyuan Temple, composing the poem “Inscription on Kaiyuan Temple in Xuancheng”—“The tower soars ninety feet high, the corridor encircles four hundred pillars,” which illustrates just how magnificent the temple beneath the Kaiyuan Pagoda was, and how thriving its incense offerings were.

Protected area: within 50 meters of the center of the pagoda.

Construction control zone: outside the protected area, the first-class zone extends east to Chengjiang North Road (130 meters outside the protected area), south to Muzhi Street (130 meters outside the protected area); the second-class zone extends east to Chengjiang North Road, south to Muzhi Street, west to Jincheng North Road, and north to Xiaoyi Lane.