Jiu Feng Temple Pagoda

Jiu Feng Temple Pagoda

Jiu Feng Temple Pagoda is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Jiu Feng Temple Pagoda, officially named “Jiu Feng Temple Monastery's Buddha Relic Pagoda on the Summit,” was built in the fourth year of the Jiatai era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1204), located on Jiu Feng Mountain behind Baita Street in Chicheng Town, Pengxi County, Sichuan Province. It features a square floor plan and is a pavilion-style brick-and-stone pagoda. The book *A History of Chinese Architecture* (by Liang Sicheng) includes a dedicated article about it.

According to the *Pengxi County Annals*, Jiu Feng Temple Pagoda was initially constructed during the Jiatai era of the Southern Song Dynasty by Bai Lin from the Li family of Puyan County. Originally built before the pagoda, Jiu Feng Temple was later gradually destroyed by wars, and was rebuilt during the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty. Between the 1980s and 1990s, structures such as the temple’s theater stage, Heavenly King Hall, Mahavira Hall, and Vairocana Hall were gradually relocated. Today, only the pagoda remains at the original site. In 1962, Jiu Feng Temple was designated as a county-level cultural relics protection unit by the Pengxi County People's Committee. In 1988, it was designated as a municipal-level protected site by the Suining City Government. In December 2002, the pagoda was listed as a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit under the name “Pengxi White Pagoda.”

The pagoda faces east and consists of a base, body, and finial, standing 36 meters tall in total. The base is square-shaped, featuring a waist-cinching Sumeru pedestal that is 0.85 meters high with each side measuring 8.2 meters. The pagoda body has thirteen tiers, with the lowest tier being 5.7 meters per side, tapering slightly inward with each ascending level — a design both clever and graceful, giving the structure an elegant, towering appearance. Each level of the pagoda’s body is designed with a four-pillar, three-bay wooden architectural facade. From the first to the sixth tier, the column tops and spandrels are decorated with decorative bracket sets called “one-dou, three-sheng,” with twenty-four on each story. The central bay of the first level features arched doorways on all sides, though only the main eastern entrance is passable. Starting from the second level, each side includes three niches, totaling 144 around the pagoda, serving both to ventilate and house statues. The thirteen tiers of the eave structure each consist of a single brick laid atop the raking cornice, followed by five layers of corbeling, resulting in deep and substantial overhanging eaves. The inner core of the pagoda is also square, with stone stairs between the core and outer shell spiraling toward the top. Each level contains a Buddhist niche (with statues now lost), whose ceilings mimic traditional caisson ceilings crafted from brick — delicate and exquisitely detailed. The niche walls are decorated with painted halos and auspicious clouds. The finial is composed of five tiers of spherical gourds that come together in a pointed spire, topped with a sacred bottle-shaped finial.

Since its construction in the Song Dynasty, aside from the white pagoda itself, the various halls and pavilions of Jiu Feng Temple have been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times, but the pagoda has only sustained minor local damage, mainly to its eaves. The remarkable preservation of its main structure is nothing short of a miracle in the history of architecture, showcasing the extraordinary sophistication of traditional Chinese building techniques.

Jiu Feng Temple Pagoda is a classic example of a pavilion-style brick-and-stone pagoda. Its towering form, elegant color, and lifelike imitation of wooden architectural elements give it a bold yet balanced aesthetic. Nestled against Jiu Feng Mountain and fronted by the Zhixi River, the towering pagoda reflected among the landscape is known locally as the “Penglai Glimpse” — and remains one of the most iconic cultural landmarks in the area.

Protected Area: East to 16.2 meters beyond the pagoda base and along the west boundary of the existing road of Pengxi People’s Hospital; South to 60 meters south of the pagoda base and 10 meters north of the northern boundary of the first building directly south of the pagoda; West to 70 meters west of the current pagoda base and the western section of present-day Baita Street; North to the red-line boundary of the existing Baita Street in Pengxi.

Construction Control Zone: East to the eastern boundary of the existing land of Pengxi People’s Hospital; South to the southern boundary of the residential building southwest of the hospital’s surgical building; West to the westernmost point of the north-facing street building of Pengxi County Forestry Bureau; North to the southern boundary of Xihexi Street.

Chicheng Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Pengxi County and the seat of the county government. It was known as Chengxiang Town in 1911, renamed Chengguan Town in 1950, and changed to Chicheng Town in 1981. Located in the northeastern part of the county on the left bank of the Pengxi River, it covers an area of 89.4 square kilometers with a population of 83,000. National Highway 318 (Sichuan–Hubei) passes through the town. The town administers the following areas: Chengdong, Chengbei, Pengzhujiao, Dashiqiao, Chengxi, Chengnan, Fuguang, Pingfeng, Jinxian, Shuimozui, Zhuanshui, Zhoujiadian, Changxing, Chenshui, Fenbi, Liangfengya, Yucheng, Dongliang, Laolongshan, Tangjiagou, Changfadian, Tanjiaba, Xiadianzi, Yaojiaping, Tiandengnian, Wadianzi, Tian… More information on Chicheng Town++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units