Renhua Putong Pagoda

Renhua Putong Pagoda

Renhua Putong Pagoda is a cultural relic protection unit of Renhua County.

Putong Pagoda is located in front of Jinshiyan Rock in the lower scenic area of Danxia Mountain, Renhua County. Built in the fifth year of the Shunzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1648), it was constructed by the monks of Jinshiyan.

The pagoda has an octagonal floor plan, three stories, and stands 3.6 meters tall. It is a pavilion-style stone pagoda built with red sandstone bricks. In front of the base on the main facade are a stone altar, candle stands, and a stone incense burner. The first level features an arched niche in which a tombstone is embedded. The epitaph is inscribed in regular script, vertically and in intaglio, reading “Spirit Pagoda of Eminent Monks Through the Ages.” The second level has a rectangular name tablet embedded in the middle below, with the three characters “Putong Pagoda” inscribed horizontally in regular script and intaglio. The inscription reads “Erected in the Early Summer of the Wuzi Year of the Yongli Reign of the Southern Ming” on the upper margin, and “Written by Liu Yueqiu” on the lower margin. Due to severe weathering, some characters are illegible. The eaves of each story curl upwards, and the pagoda is topped with an eight-sided spire crowned with a precious bead. Surrounding the pagoda are stone and brick retaining walls, as well as a tomb front and worship hall. It is the only tomb pagoda from the Southern Ming period in Guangdong Province with a verifiable specific date.

In 1989, the Renhua County People's Government designated it as a cultural relic protection unit.