Guanxi Pagoda

Guanxi Pagoda

Guanxi Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Longnan City.

In Guanxi Town, about twenty kilometers northeast of Longnan County and roughly twenty kilometers from the county seat, stands the Guanxi Pagoda, built in the early Qing Dynasty. Perched atop the summit of Tianluo Kengwei Mountain at the border between Chengkou and Zoukeng villages, the pagoda has led locals to refer to the mountain as "Pagoda Mountain." Pagoda Mountain is a classic example of a "writing-brush-leaning mountain." The Guanxi Pagoda is a hexagonal, outer-brick-and-inner-timber-structured feng shui pagoda, entirely reddish-brown in color. It has five stories that gradually decrease in size as they go up. The first story is enclosed, with a side width of 3 meters, an opposite-side distance of about 6 meters, and a height of 2.5 meters, featuring no doors or windows. The second story is 2.3 meters high; the third, 2 meters; the fourth, 1.7 meters; and the fifth, 1.5 meters. The pagoda stands 10.5 meters tall in total and is topped with an iron lightning rod shaped like an "Ф." Between each level, there are double-layered, horizontally laid, sloping eave corners that protrude alternately by about 20 centimeters. Starting from the second story, each façade has an arched door, one of which is a through-arch. Originally, the pagoda had an internal, elevated staircase that allowed climbing to the upper levels, but it has now been damaged. The pagoda was built in the second year of the Yongzheng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1724). A row of inscribed characters on the arched door of the second story clearly records: “Lead organizer Xu Beisheng, head villager Xu Hongbang, pagoda master Zhu Wenbang, pagoda master Wang Zuowen.” There are two legends about why the pagoda was constructed: One says that the main gate of the Guanxi Xu Clan Ancestral Hall faced directly toward Tianluo Keng’s Penholder Mountain, but unfortunately, the central peak was too low. To remedy this flaw and improve the feng shui, the Xu family built the pagoda to compensate. Another legend says that in ancient times, Guanxi was troubled by a malevolent spirit—local residents repeatedly invited monks and Taoists to perform exorcisms, which could only temporarily suppress the spirit but not eliminate it. Later, a wandering Taoist visited Guanxi, saw that the demon often disturbed the villagers, and instructed the locals to build a precious pagoda. He then drew a divine talisman and instructed that it be burned inside the pagoda upon its completion to ensure everlasting peace. Since its construction, the pagoda has never been repaired and remains intact. Due to ground subsidence and other factors, the entire structure leans approximately 15 centimeters to the northeast, sharing a resemblance in effect with Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, making it a major scenic attraction in Longnan. The Guanxi Pagoda not only holds significant visual appeal, but also, as a leaning yet stable structure that has withstood lightning strikes for centuries, it holds considerable value for the study of the scientific aspects of ancient architecture. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Longnan County in 1992.

Guanxi Town: Located in the eastern part of Longnan County, Ganzhou City, Guanxi Town is about 20 kilometers from the county seat and boasts a superior geographical location and abundant natural resources. The Beijing-Kowloon Railway and the Gan-Guang Expressway run through the town. It is home to the Guanxi New Walled Village, known as the “Ancient Roman Castle of the East” and the “Living Fossil of Han-Jin Fortified Villages.” The town features vast and rugged terrain, with borders interwoven like embroidery: it adjoins Dingnan County to the east, Huangsha Township to the west, Wenlong Town to the south, and Liren Town to the north. The land is high around the edges and lower in the middle, with overlapping mountain ranges and an average elevation of 306 meters. To the east lies Dongshan Mountain, to the south Dafu Mountain, to the west Sanyang Mountain, and to the north Xuefeng Mountain. The area is characterized by “six parts mountains, one part water, and two parts farmland…” More details about Guanxi Town++

Further Reading:

· The Four Pagodas of Longnan