Zengcheng Wild Goose Pagoda

Zengcheng Wild Goose Pagoda

The Zengcheng Wild Goose Pagoda is a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit of Guangzhou.

The Wild Goose Pagoda is the only ancient pagoda remaining in Zengcheng City and is a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit of Guangzhou. Built in the second year of the Wanli era during the Ming Dynasty (1574), it is located on Zhishan Mountain, 2 kilometers south of Licheng Town (now on the left side of the Zengtan Highway), adjacent to the rippling waters of the Zeng River.

The pagoda features a grand and magnificent structure with a meticulously crafted design, entirely built from red stone. It appears to have seven stories on the outside but actually consists of thirteen levels inside. Standing 32 meters tall, visitors can climb directly from the ground floor to the top. The pagoda has an octagonal prism shape, with windows on each level facing the eight cardinal and intercardinal directions: east, south, west, north, southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest. It is adorned with bracket sets (dougong) and covered corridors, offering views of the surrounding scenery. At the top sits a giant magnetic jar used as decoration, shining brilliantly and towering into the clouds. The jar is further adorned with eight iron chains shaped like golden dragons, each with a string of iron bells hanging from the dragon’s neck, along with a colorful phoenix. In ancient times, when boats passed by along the river, passengers could gaze up at the pagoda from afar and see what appeared to be dancing dragons and phoenixes, resplendent in their glory.

The original pagoda had seven stories (with nine levels inside), an octagonal floor plan, and was built from blue bricks atop a red sandstone Sumeru pedestal. It stood 81 meters tall with sides 2.5 meters long. The pedestal was carved with cloud-and-thunder motifs in the Ming Dynasty style, giving it an elegant and rustic beauty. The southern face of the first level featured a round arched doorway, while the other sides had arched niches. The structure followed a wall-piercing, platform-winding design, supported by corbelled brickwork that held up the second-level platform. The second level had two round arched doors, and each successive level used multiple layers of corbelled bricks to support platforms. Blue bricks were used for corner pillars and lintels, while the walls were coated with white lime, and the pillars and lintels painted vermilion. During later renovations, the original appearance was altered, with only a stone plaque inscribed with the characters “Wild Goose Pagoda,” written by local resident Zhou Congjian in the year of Guangxu Wuzi (Guangxu 24, 1898), being preserved.

The pagoda was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit in 1993.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangzhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units