Kaiyuan Pagoda Park

　　    Kaiyuan Pagoda and Jinzhang Pavilion are located on Mashan (also known as Pagoda Mountain) in Lougang, Changsha. Among them, Kaiyuan Pagoda has seven stories and covers an area of 49.1 square meters. It was first built in the 16th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1751), originally named the "Wengai" Pagoda. Legend has it that at the time, Ye Zhongxiu, a native of Nanxi County in Sichuan Province who was appointed as the magistrate of Kaiping, saw that the county lacked cultural development and had few individuals achieving success in the imperial examinations. He thus proposed building a pagoda on the top of Mashan

　　    to

　　    encourage the cultivation of talent. The "Wengai" Pagoda ("Wengai" being homophonous with "civil talent") was intended to symbolize hopes for more scholars. Shortly after the completion of the "Wengai" Pagoda,

　　    Kaiping saw over ten individuals pass the imperial examinations.

　　    Jinzhang Pavilion covers an area of 97.02 square meters. In the 23rd year of the Daoguang reign (1843), Zhang Bangtai, the then-county magistrate from Jishui, Jiangxi, decided to add two more stories to the "Wengai" Pagoda so that it would match the height of the steps of the Cangcheng Confucian Temple. At the same time, he constructed a "Jinzhang" Pavilion next to the "Wengai" Pagoda, aiming to further inspire talent development. In the same year, two stone lions were also erected, symbolizing the hope for a top scholar. It was stipulated that the gate on the ground floor of the "Wengai" Pagoda would not be opened until a top scholar emerged.

　　    Thereafter, Kaiping indeed experienced a boom in imperial examination successes,

　　    kicking off a new era in the county’s academic achievements. As a result, the "Wengai" Pagoda was renamed "Kaiyuan Pagoda." However, since no top scholar was ever produced, the gate on the ground floor remains unopened to this day. In 1999, the Kaiping Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government renovated Kaiyuan Pagoda and Jinzhang Pavilion, established Kaiyuan Pagoda Park, and built a "Confucius Hall" on the original site of Jinzhang Pavilion. The hall houses a 3.89-meter-tall bronze statue of Confucius. Since then, Kaiyuan Pagoda and Jinzhang Pavilion have regained their former glory.

　　    

　　

　　    Address: Mashan, Lougang, Changsha, Kaiping City, Jiangmen

　　    Type: Historical Site / Ancient Pagoda

　　    Recommended Visit Duration: About 1 hour