Daci Pavilion

Daci Pavilion

Daci Pavilion is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Daci Pavilion is a key cultural relic protection unit in Hebei Province, located on Yuhua Road in Baoding. Adjacent to the ancient Lotus Pond to the west, it is a representative ancient architectural structure of the historic city of Baoding and a symbol of the ancient city. Originally built between 1227 and 1232 during the Yuan Dynasty by Cai Guogong Zhang Rou, it was first named Dabeige (Great Mercy Pavilion). As one of the ancient Eight Scenic Spots of Baoding, it was historically known as “City Pavilion Soaring into the Sky,” with its grandeur described as “towering dozens of zhang high, its vermilion and blue layers visible from miles away like rosy clouds.” The current Daci Pavilion is a structure that underwent multiple reconstructions after a fire during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty.

Covering an area of 3,440 square meters, with a cultural relic building area of 800 square meters, the main existing structures of Daci Pavilion include the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Daci Pavilion itself, the Abbot’s Courtyard, and the Temple of Guan Yu. After passing through the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Bell Tower and Drum Tower stand facing each other, both 10.9 meters tall with identical design, featuring double-eaved hip-and-gable roofs and a cross-shaped ridge divided into upper and lower sections. To the north stands the main structure elevated on a 4.6-meter-high stone base.

The Daci Pavilion itself rises 25 meters high with three tiers of double eaves and a hip-and-gable roof covered with gray tiles. The ground floor has five bays in width and three in depth, with six-panel lattice doors on both the front and rear. Inside the pavilion, a statue of the Goddess of Mercy stands atop a lotus-shaped Sumeru pedestal, serene in expression. The second and third floors each have three bays in width and one in depth. The caisson ceilings and beams inside are painted with traditional polychrome designs, and the surrounding corridors offer panoramic views of the urban landscape and residential houses below. Ascending to the third floor and looking out the windows, the distant peaks of Langshan Mountain to the west come into full view. Ancient poems praising Daci Pavilion include lines such as “Liaohai comes into faint view; Yao Mountain looms in the distance” and “From the pearl towers of Yan, trees frame the golden pavilion amid azure clouds.”

Behind Daci Pavilion lies a Temple of Guan Yu originally built during the Ming Dynasty, initially named “Han Shou Ting Hou Temple.” The main hall has three bays in width and one in depth, featuring a hip-and-gable roof with a front roll-roofed porch. Because it faces north while sitting south, it is called a reverse-facing Guan Yu Temple—an extremely rare structure in China.

Four stone stelae remain inside Daci Pavilion, each documenting the various renovations carried out since the fourth year of the Shunzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty (1647 AD). These are valuable materials for studying the history of the pavilion.

Admission: 5 RMB/adult; 1 RMB/student

Visiting time: 1 hour

Phone: 0312-2024131

Further reading:

· Second Batch of Key Cultural Relic Protection Units in Hebei Province

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units