Yangxian Kaiming Temple

　　The Yangxian Kaiming Temple and its pagoda have withstood many dynasties, enduring the turbulence and trials of history, leaving the structure battered and worn. Under the guidance of China’s reform and opening-up policy, the Yangxian County Government relocated the Kaiming Temple away from its Tang-era pagoda to develop the plaza. The temple then moved peacefully to a new site, now located 300 meters south of the South Gate of Yangxian (south of Chengguan Middle School).

　　The Kaiming Temple was demolished in May 2001 and reconstruction began on June 19, 2002. It currently has three halls: the Mahavira Hall, Guanyin Hall, and Chanting Hall. On June 19, 2012 (the first day of the fifth lunar month), construction started on the new Ksitigarbha Hall and Buddhist Culture Corridor. On August 22, 2012 (the sixth day of the seventh lunar month), a grand “Ksitigarbha Hall – Beam-Raising Ceremony” was held, establishing a new center for promoting harmony in Yangxian and social moral education.

　　The Kaiming Temple Pagoda is located north of the original Kaiming Temple, hence its name. The temple itself had long collapsed, leaving only this pagoda. It is now a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit.

　　The *Yangxian Annals* records: “The Kaiming Temple Pagoda: Built alongside the temple in the early Tang Dynasty.” The *Hanzhong Prefecture Annals* states: “Kaiming Temple: Located two hundred steps south of the county, a monastic complex. Built during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (713–714 AD), renovated in the first year of the Song Dynasty’s Qingyuan era (1195 AD), and became a major monastery in the 24th year of the Ming Dynasty’s Hongwu era (1391 AD). It features a thirteen-story stupa.”

　　The pagoda is a square, single-story, multi-eaved brick structure. The center of the northern face has an arched doorway leading to a small square chamber, measuring 1.5 meters in both length and width, with a total height of about 3 meters. The pagoda has thirteen levels, with each level’s height and diameter decreasing progressively from bottom to top. The top is crowned with a semi-spherical finial, an octagonal spire, and a precious canopy. From the second level upward, the pagoda’s facades feature fifty-two Buddha niches and one hundred small square single-story stupas. Each niche houses a stone-carved Buddha statue, and every level has wind bells on the corners, though many are now missing. The pagoda is simple yet majestic, and the only ancient building remaining in Yangxian.

　　Transportation Guide

　　Location: 300 meters south of the South Gate of Yangxian (south of Chengguan Middle School), Yangxian County, Hanzhong City, Shaanxi Province.

　　Getting There: Take a taxi within Yangxian County or walk along Zhuque South Road.