Snow-Yang Toutu Pagoda

Snow-Yang Toutu Pagoda

Snow-Yang Toutu Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Ningwu County.

Snow-Yang Toutu Pagoda, also known as Xiaozu Pagoda, is located on the cliffside plank walkway in Xiaoshide Village, Censhan Township, Ningwu County. It faces south. The pagoda covers an area of approximately 12 square meters. Built during the Qing Dynasty, the existing structure is a Qing-era building.

The hexagonal brick pagoda stands 8.5 meters tall in total and has four stories, each with corbelled eaves beneath the roof. The base is 1.1 meters high, and the other levels have false arched doorways on three sides, each inscribed with Buddhist mantras. The finial is damaged. Beneath the base lies a crypt. The crypt is a brick-and-stone arched chamber, 1.74 meters deep and 1.6 meters wide, housing a fragmented statue of Snow-Yang Toutu.

According to an inscription, it was built in the 51st year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1712). Legend has it that after Li Zicheng captured the capital at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the fourth son of Emperor Chongzhen came here to become a monk, taking the dharma name Xia’an. He entered nirvana before his master, hence the name Xiaozu Pagoda. In 1984, it was designated as a county-level cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Ningwu County.

Source: Xinzhou Net

Xiaoshide Village: Xiaoshide Village…… More details about Xiaoshide Village++