Jiagu Temple Pagoda

　　The Dayu Jiagu Temple Pagoda is situated at the foot of Shiling Mountain east of the county town, next to Nan'an Cured Duck. It gets its name because it was once part of the original Jiagu Temple complex. The pagoda is 19 meters tall, with sides measuring 2.1 meters, and features five levels. It has a square base that tapers toward the top, constructed with grey bricks in a wooden-style design, making it a pavilion-style tower. The base of the pagoda is hexagonal and has five tiers, each with arched doors, columns, beams, and dougong (bracket sets) on every side. The lower sections of each tier contain vertical arched niches resembling Buddha shrines, and the eaves of the pagoda protrude slightly. The interior of the pagoda is hollow, allowing visitors to climb to the top through the niches along the walls. Between the second and fifth tiers, there are prominent double-layered decorative brick eaves on each level. The upper layer features an inverted bell-shaped, tiled, sloping roof that is 1.5 meters high. The entire structure is exquisitely built, stable, and dignified. Jiagu Temple was originally built in the fifth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (585 AD), renovated during the Jingyun era of the Tang Dynasty (710 AD), and renamed “Dayun Temple.” In the first year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty (1008 AD), it was called “Qingquan Temple,” and after being renovated again in the first year of the Jiayou era of the Song Dynasty (1056 AD), it was renamed Jiagu Temple. The temple itself has long since collapsed and no longer exists, leaving only this pagoda. According to expert analysis, the pagoda exhibits architectural styles from the Tang Dynasty and represents an immature phase of Song Dynasty pagoda design. Its beams, brackets, and dougong closely resemble the ancient architectural styles depicted in Wang Bo’s “Tengwang Pavilion: Painting of a Guest Composing a Poem on the Spot,” housed in the Tianlai Pavilion. It is considered a masterpiece among Tang and Song Dynasty pagodas in the province and even across southern China. In 1957, it was listed as one of the first batch of provincial-level key cultural relics protection units and is the oldest ancient pagoda in the county.