Five Pagoda Temple

Five Pagoda Temple

The Five Pagoda Temple is a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural heritage site.

The Five Pagoda Temple is situated in the southeastern part of the old city of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Originally named the Vajra Base Stupa of Sarira, it is called the Five Pagoda Temple because the base of the stupa has five square sarira pagodas. The temple was built during the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty, stands approximately 16 meters high, and is entirely built from glazed bricks. The lower part of the stupa body is engraved with the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra in three languages, while the upper part contains thousands of gilded small Buddha statues, all exquisitely and delicately crafted. It is a brick-and-stone religious structure that can stand comparison with the Five Pagodas of the Great Zhenjue Temple in Beijing. Behind the pagoda are three stone carvings: the "Distribution Map of Mount Sumeru," the "Chart of the Six Paths of Reincarnation," and the Mongolian "Astronomical Chart."

The most valuable item in the Five Pagoda Temple is the Mongolian astronomical chart stone carving located near the northern wall. The astronomical chart has a diameter of 144.5 centimeters. The celestial sphere is centered on the North Celestial Pole, with lines indicating the right ascension positions of the twenty-eight lunar mansions, as well as five concentric circles representing, from the inside out, the Arctic Circle, the Summer Solstice Circle, the Celestial Equator, the Winter Solstice Circle, and the Antarctic Circle. It is the only known astronomical chart in the world annotated in Mongolian script to date and holds significant scientific research value. The Vajra Base Stupa of Sarira was built in the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty and consists of three parts: the base, the vajra base, and the stupa top. It is a brick-and-stone structure with a total height of 16.5 meters, and the stupa top is formed by five delicate small sarira pagodas.

The base of the sarira pagoda is about 1 meter high; the vajra base is a waist-tightened sumeru pedestal, with its waist-tightened section carved with patterns such as lions, elephants,  , garudas, and vajras. Above the waist-tightened section are seven layers of short eaves. The area under the first layer of eaves features the full text of the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra carved in three languages (Mongolian, Tibetan, and Sanskrit). From the second to the seventh layer of eaves, there are 1,119 gilded Buddha statues in various poses. The southern side of the vajra base has an arched gate, above which hangs a plaque inscribed with the name “Vajra Base Stupa of Sarira” in Mongolian, Chinese, and Tibetan. Next to the gate are the Four Heavenly Kings. Inside the gate, at the eastern and western corners, staircases lead up to the top of the base, with the exit being a square spire pavilion. The five small sarira pagodas are located to the north of the pavilion. The central small sarira pagoda has seven layers of eaves, while the four corner pagodas each have five layers. All five pagodas are inlaid with brick carvings of Buddha statues, bodhi trees, and auspicious clouds. On the rear gable wall of the Vajra Base Stupa of Sarira are three carvings, among which the “Mongolian Astronomical Chart Stone Carving” is the most precious and serves as important material for the study of the history of astronomy.

The Five Pagodas were originally an important structure within the Cideng Temple monastery. They were built in the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty. Later, when the Cideng Temple fell into disrepair and collapsed, only the Five Pagodas remained standing. In 1977, the state allocated special funds for the restoration of the Five Pagodas and began establishing archival records. In 1982, the Five Pagodas Cultural Relics Preservation Office was established, and protective signs were put up. On January 13, 1988, the State Council declared the Five Pagoda Temple a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Attraction Location

Eastern part of the Beijing Library, Haidian District, Beijing