HuaWa Temple Pagoda in Lixian County

HuaWa Temple Pagoda in Lixian County

HuaWa Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Also known as Baota Temple Pagoda or HuaWa Pagoda, the HuaWa Temple Pagoda preserves the early Northern Song Dynasty architectural style and construction techniques, remaining relatively intact. It reflects the pagoda-building technology of southern China and stands as an important physical example of early Song Dynasty Buddhist pagodas. It is also the only well-preserved early Northern Song brick pagoda in the entire province. In 1959, HuaWa Temple Pagoda was designated as a Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit, and in May 2013, it was listed by the State Council as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

The HuaWa Temple Pagoda was originally a Buddhist pagoda within the HuaWa Temple complex, standing 74 meters tall. The pagoda faces west with its base to the east and has an octagonal floor plan. It is a seven-story, dense-eave, solid-brick pagoda, reaching a total height of 22 meters with a base diameter of 5.5 meters. The pagoda is built on a earthen platform with an inverted conical foundation. On the north side of the base, there is a brick archway that connects to the underground palace; the archway is 0.9 meters wide, 1.95 meters high, and the passage is 1.05 meters deep. The ceiling of the underground palace is constructed with an octagonal caisson ceiling. The pagoda's corners feature pilasters, and each level’s waist eaves are supported by a row of lotus petal-shaped moldings at their bases. The upward-turned corners of the waist eaves are designed in the shape of bird-wing-like cloud motifs, and the top of the pagoda is crowned with a glazed gourd-shaped finial. The first level has a Buddha niche on both the eastern and western sides, while each side of every level above the second houses one Buddha niche containing a single Buddha statue.

According to local legend, the pagoda was constructed during the Tang Dynasty by Yu Chigong, and the HuaWa Temple was later built around the pagoda during the Ming Dynasty. The "Temple Records" section of the "Zhili Lizhou Annals" contains limited details about the pagoda, stating only: "Baota Temple, located within the boundaries of Songzi, was built during the Song Dynasty by Duan, with the temple constructed by Li Xuan during the Jingtai era (1450–1457)." Several stone steles once stood on either side of the original pagoda but were all destroyed during basic farmland development. In 2010, a stone stele commemorating the 1922 restoration of the pagoda was discovered nearby, but unfortunately, it did not record the pagoda’s origins or history. As a result, the exact date of the pagoda’s construction and its historical background remain unknown.

Scenic Area Address: Huawa Village, Yiwan Township, Lixian County, Changde City, Hunan Province

Transportation: Take a bus from Changde City to Lixian County, then transfer to a minibus to reach the scenic area

Yiwan Township: Yiwan Township and Yanjing Town have been administratively merged to form Yanjing Town

A township under the jurisdiction of Lixian County. Established in 1950 as Yiwan Township, it was renamed Yiwanling Township in 1956, converted into Yiwan People's Commune in 1958, and reinstated as Yiwan Township in 1984. Located in the northern part of the county, on the south bank of the Jixi River, it is 26 kilometers from the county seat. Covering an area of 64.49 square kilometers with a population of 21,000, the township government is based in Caijiapo. The area has road access to the county seat. It administers the following villages: Zhangshuwan, Xianhe, Hongjia, Gaoqiao, Yijia, Yangjiaqiao, Wanfu, Pailouping, Caijia, Baiyan, Yiwan, Gonghe, Louziping, Dongzhu, Yuguan Mountain, Bailian, Di... [More detailed information on Yiwan Township]

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units