Mingsha Zhou Tower

Mingsha Zhou Tower

Mingsha Zhou Tower is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Mingsha Zhou Tower

Originally named Yongshou Tower of Anqing Temple, it was originally an octagonal, 13-story brick pavilion-style tower. Built during the Western Xia Dynasty, the tower stands on a rammed earth platform 1.5 meters above ground level, with a base side length of 3.14 meters. The upper six stories have collapsed, leaving a remaining height of about 27 meters. It was reinforced in 1985, and after restoration, its height reached 42 meters. The first story of the tower body is relatively tall, at 6.64 meters, with each successive story gradually becoming shorter. Each level of the tower body features corbelled brick eaves, with bracket sets (dougong) decorating the center and corners beneath each eave. Wind chimes hang from the eave corners. On the southern side, there is an arched doorway 1.65 meters high and 0.65 meters wide that leads to the interior chamber. The interior originally had a wooden staircase allowing visitors to climb up and enjoy the view. Yongshou Tower was originally the main structure within Anqing Temple in Mingsha Zhou. According to the “Record of the Reconstruction of Anqing Temple”: “In the 40th year of the Jiajing reign (1561 AD), the earth shook violently for thousands of miles, mountains shifted, valleys changed, and the temple collapsed.” The “Record of the Reconstruction of Yongshou Tower of Anqing Temple in Mingsha Zhou” states: “Since the third year of the Longqing reign (1569 AD), considerable funding has been allocated for construction, but the project was extensive and could not be completed quickly. By the early third month of the eighth year of the Wanli reign (1580 AD), the work was completed, and the monk renamed the tower ‘Yongshou.’ In the 48th year of the Kangxi reign (1709 AD), another earthquake caused half of the ‘Yongshou Tower’ to collapse again. Therefore, the existing tower is a Ming Dynasty reconstruction.”

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units