Longxing Temple and Stone Pagoda

Longxing Temple and Stone Pagoda

Longxing Temple and Stone Pagoda are cultural heritage sites protected at the provincial level in Henan Province.

Longxing Temple and Stone Pagoda are located in Longxing Temple Natural Village, Xiaodian Tou Village, Qianying Township, Baofeng County, Pingdingshan City, and date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. As Baofeng was also known as Longxing County during the Tang and Song dynasties, under the jurisdiction of Ruzhou, it is also referred to as Ruzhou Longxing Temple. After the Yuan Dynasty's Yanyou era, the temple was also called Xunhu Temple, named after its location on Xunhu Mountain. The temple complex faces south and sits on a terrain where the southwest is higher and the northeast is lower, with buildings constructed along the contours of the mountain. The layout is staggered, with higher structures in the north and lower ones in the south, originally covering an area of over 40 acres. Today, only nine buildings from the Ming and Qing periods remain, in the following order: watchtower, lower passageway hall, dining hall, guest hall, Imperial Princess Hall, monks' quarters, side rooms, Buddha Hall, and West Buddha Hall. Among them, the West Buddha Hall was originally the Huayan Small Hall, a Ming Dynasty structure, while the rest were rebuilt in the 30th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1850). The total floor area is approximately 410 square meters.

The stone pagoda is located in the northwest of the village. It was built in the 10th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1531). The pagoda features seven tiers of carvings, stands 3.5 meters tall, and has a square base measuring 2.5 meters on each side, all constructed from stacked blue stone carvings. The second and fifth tiers of the pagoda body are octagonal, the third tier is quadrangular, and the fourth and seventh tiers are lotus-shaped, with a finial atop the pagoda.

Longxing Temple and Stone Pagoda play an important role in the study of ancient history, culture, and architectural carving art, and hold significant historical value. In 2016, they were designated as part of the seventh batch of Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites by the provincial government.

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites in Henan Province