Deer Peak Pagoda

Deer Peak Pagoda

Deer Peak Pagoda is a cultural tourism attraction.

The East Pagoda, also known as Deer Peak Pagoda or Dexing Pagoda, is located atop Deer Peak. It was first built during the Zhiping era of the Song Dynasty by Sun Qi, a successful imperial examination candidate who served as the magistrate of Guiyang, but later collapsed. It was rebuilt in the 10th year of the Jiajing reign (1531) of the Ming Dynasty and completed in the 1st year of the Wanli reign (1573).

The pagoda is built of brick and stone, has seven levels and eight sides, stands 30.18 meters tall, and the diameter of the first level exceeds 11 meters. The interior is hollow, with stairs that allow visitors to circle up to the top. Each side of every level features either an arched doorway or a false arched doorway, and the levels are connected by...

...short eaves that project outward, with stone brackets embedded at the corners, resembling upturned roof corners. A bronze bell hangs from each of these corners, and when the breeze blows, the bells tinkle melodiously. At the top of the pagoda are a cast-iron finial and a precious vase. Among the brick pagodas of the Ming Dynasty in Hunan Province, the East Pagoda stands out as unique.

It is now a provincial-level key cultural relic protected site in Hunan. Today, it forms part of East Pagoda Park along with attractions such as Deer Peak Temple, Deer Peak Evening Glow, Zhuoweng Rock, and the statue of Ouyang Hai.

The East Pagoda has a beautiful legend. It is said that long ago, at the foot of Baoshan Mountain, there lived a poor young man named Zhou Lang, who made a living by fishing in the Chongyang River.

One day, Longmei, the third daughter of the Dragon King of the South Sea, came to the Chongyang River to play in the water. Seeing that Zhou Lang was handsome, she transformed into a village girl gathering pigweed by the river and brought him his fish basket every day, playing together. Over time, love blossomed. To test Zhou Lang’s talent, Longmei posed him a poetic couplet: “Fir trees planted on the peak, the wind blows the firs, the firs move but the peak does not.” After some thought, Zhou Lang replied: “Boats moored on the sandbar, I row the boat, the boat moves but the sandbar does not.” Moved by Zhou Lang’s looks and wit, Longmei promised herself to him. When the river patrol demon learned of this and reported it to the Dragon King, the Dragon King was furious. He sent troops to capture Longmei and punish her, and also stirred up storms in the Chongyang River, flooding the nearby fields. Seeing the suffering of the people and Zhou Lang, Longmei threw her jade hairpin into the river. In an instant, a great mountain appeared, blocking the floodwaters, and the hairpin turned into a towering pillar standing on the mountain. Zhou Lang moored his boat to the pillar by the mountain, and both the people and Zhou Lang were saved. Later generations, in memory of Longmei, built a pagoda on the mountain. This mountain later became known as Deer Peak, and because it is located east of the state capital, the pagoda is called Deer Peak Pagoda or East Pagoda.