Hengyang Laiyan Pagoda

Hengyang Laiyan Pagoda

Hengyang Laiyan Pagoda is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

Laiyan Pagoda, one of Hengyang’s scenic landmarks, is located about 3 kilometers from the city center and stands opposite Huayan Peak. Its name, meaning “Pagoda for Returning Geese,” reflects the migratory birds’ coming and going. Originally built as a navigational aid—similar to today’s lighthouse—the pagoda has a stone foundation and walls made of blue bricks. The structure follows a pavilion-style design, featuring seven stories and an octagonal shape, standing 28 meters tall. The first floor has an entrance on the southeast side, and above the south-facing arch is a white marble plaque inscribed with the Chinese characters for “Laiyan Pagoda,” written in calligraphy by Peng Yulin, a Qing Dynasty Minister of War. From the second floor upward, the pagoda gradually tapers, with each level featuring symmetrical niches, two windows, and four doors that offer views of the surroundings. The eaves are stacked without bracket sets, and the outer walls are adorned with carved stone patterns. The arches are decorated with stone carvings of dragons and phoenixes. The pagoda’s corners once had wind chimes, and the top features an iron spire with a finial. The overall structure showcases architectural characteristics of the Ming Dynasty. Since its construction, the pagoda has undergone multiple renovations and remains preserved to this day. It is now a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

According to the *Hengyang County Annals · Historical Sites* from the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era: “In the Year of Xinwei (1581), Zongbo Zeng Chaojie initiated the construction of a stupa here with the support of local residents… It took thirteen years to complete.” Later, during the Qing Jiaqing, Daoguang, Tongzhi eras, and the Republican period, the pagoda was repaired multiple times, largely retaining its Ming Dynasty architectural style. Laiyan Pagoda is a pavilion-style brick-and-stone pagoda, facing south and standing seven stories high with eight sides, hollow inside, and reaching a total height of 36 meters, with base sides measuring 7.3 meters. The pagoda sits atop a Sumeru pedestal stone foundation, which is decorated with carved patterns. The door lintel is made of white marble, inscribed with the three large characters “Laiyan Pagoda,” written in calligraphy by Peng Yulin, a Qing Dynasty Minister of War during the Tongzhi era. Originally, there were a mountain gate and two pavilions named Shuanglian and Yinxian beside the pagoda, but both have been lost; the precious vase was partially destroyed during wartime in 1944. In 1989, the municipal government carried out a comprehensive restoration of Laiyan Pagoda, repairing the pagoda body, eaves, decorative sculptures on each floor’s corners and the rooftop (including mythical creatures like the aoyu, lions, dragons, and scroll motifs), restoring the precious vase, the stepped stone path, and the stone railings on the second and third floors’ outer eaves, and rebuilding the mountain gate. At the time, Mayor Su Jianmin authored the *Record of the Continued Renovation of Laiyan Pagoda*, calligraphed by Cultural Bureau Director Li Zhengnan, and engraved on a stone tablet embedded in the left wall of the first-floor doorway. Laiyan Pagoda was designated as a municipal cultural relic protection unit twice, in 1959 and 1974, and was announced as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit on October 10, 1983.