Duobao'an Pagoda

Duobao'an Pagoda

Duobao'an Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Anhui Province.

Duobao'an Pagoda dates back to the Northern Song Dynasty. It is a pavilion-style brick pagoda with a hexagonal floor plan. Originally consisting of nine tiers, the eighth and ninth tiers were destroyed long ago, leaving seven tiers standing, with a current height of 21.6 meters. The bottom tier has a side length of 4.4 meters and a height of 3.9 meters. Each successive tier above tapers inward, forming a cone shape.

Duobao'an Pagoda is a hollow pagoda with a hexagonal floor plan, a pavilion-style design, and constructed mainly from large bricks. Seven tiers remain, with a total surviving height of 21.6 meters. The base has sides that are 4.4 meters wide and a height of 3.9 meters, with each successive tier narrowing in width and height, forming a pyramidal shape. The seventh tier (the current top) has sides that are 3.1 meters wide. The main body of the pagoda faces west, and the base includes a pagoda chamber with a round-arched doorway measuring 3.3 meters in height. The interior floor follows the angular shape of the pagoda walls, also hexagonal, with each side and corner featuring imitation wooden brackets that support the stacked dome ceiling. Originally, the interior housed Buddhist shrines and statues, which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The exterior of the pagoda includes tiered balconies (pagoda eaves) made of protruding flat bricks, supported below by carved brick brackets. Between the pagoda core (inner pillar) and the outer wall, there is a 50 to 80-centimeter-wide brick staircase that winds around, allowing visitors to climb up to the top.

The "Lu'an Prefecture Annals" (from the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty) recorded: “Duobao'an Temple is located east of the street outside the north gate. Inside is a pagoda, said to have been supervised in its construction by Yu Chijingong. Bandits damaged the top several feet. In earlier years, an ancient bell was unearthed, and upon examining the inscribed date, it was found to be from the Tang Dynasty’s Yaosì Temple.”

On May 4, 1998, Duobao'an Pagoda was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit of Anhui.

Protected area: The pagoda structure itself and a 20-meter buffer zone extending east, south, west, and north.

Construction control zone: Outside the protected area — 160 meters east, 32 meters south, 90 meters west, and 20 meters north.