The Underground Palace of Jingzhi Temple Pagoda

The Underground Palace of Jingzhi Temple Pagoda

The Underground Palace of Jingzhi Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Underground Palace of Jingzhi Temple Pagoda is located in Caochang Hutong on Xinli Street in Dingzhou City, Hebei Province.

The Underground Palace of Jingzhi Temple Pagoda was built in the second year of the Taiping Xingguo era during the Northern Song Dynasty (977 AD). It is square-shaped, built of bricks, covering an area of 7.2 square meters, with walls 1.1 meters high and a total height of 2.34 meters. The structure includes painted wooden brackets, and the top is covered with a stone-carved gabled roof. On the southern side, the arched doorway is flanked by paintings of heavenly kings, while the northern wall depicts the Nirvana of Sakyamuni, vividly illustrating the scene where ten disciples and relatives mourn the Buddha. The east and west walls feature colorful murals of celestial musicians in armor, portraying scenes of the deities Shakra and Brahma paying homage to the Buddha.

In 2006, the Underground Palace of Jingzhi Temple Pagoda, as an ancient architectural site from the Song Dynasty, was included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further reading:

· Second Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units