Pingle Kuixing Tower

Pingle Kuixing Tower

Kuixing Tower is located in the central part of Puxi Village, Qinglong Township, approximately 41 kilometers from the county seat. It was first built in the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1757), renovated in the 16th year of the Daoguang reign (1836), repaired again in the 4th year of the Tongzhi reign (1865), and underwent a third restoration in 1962. The tower largely retains its original appearance from when it was first constructed. The tower is 15.53 meters tall and is a square two-story building with upturned eaves. The ground floor serves as a stage, with a base that is 1.65 meters high, 9.3 meters long, and 8.3 meters wide, built from blue bricks. The four corners are reinforced with square bluestones, and the stage surface is paved with wooden boards. The upper structure is made of wood, supported by ten large fir pillars, four of which are vertical pillars extending all the way to the top of the tower. The first floor is 6 meters high, with a brick wall at the back featuring an Eight Trigrams painting. The stage is divided into front and back sections by a screen. The front section is 5.6 meters deep and serves as the performance area, with 1.4-meter-high railings on both sides. The rear section is 2.6 meters deep and functions as the dressing room. On either side of the screen are doors, each topped with a horizontal plaque: the left reads “Fanghu” (Square Vase), and the right “Yuanqiao” (Round Island). The front of the screen features a circular design of a “Qilin Treading on Clouds,” above which hangs a large plaque inscribed with four regular script characters: “Daguan Zai Shang” (The Grand View is Above). Beside it is a couplet that reads: “Sit and admire the beauty of the two mountains before the stage, silently resonating with the eternal thoughts of the sages Fuxi and Cangjie.” The second-floor walls consist of movable lattice windows and doors. The room is 4.6 meters high, 5.7 meters wide, and 4.7 meters deep, housing a shrine that enshrines the statue of the God of Kuixing. The shrine is 3.25 meters high, 2.5 meters wide, and 3.25 meters deep. Behind the shrine are stairs leading up and down, surrounded by winding corridors.

From the ceiling of the second floor to the roof ridge, the height is 3.05 meters. The cross-section of the tower forms the shape of the Chinese character “开” (open), divided into upper and lower layers of roofing, with upturned eaves on all four corners—eight in total between the two levels. Each upturned eave is adorned with a statue, collectively representing the “Eight Immortals.” The ridges of the eaves feature carved dragons, and at the very top of the tower stands a small pagoda, flanked by statues of a crocodile and a crane. These sculptures were destroyed in the early stages of the Cultural Revolution.