Xingwen Pagoda stands on the South Gate Slope of Wufeng County beside the provincial highway. Constructed in the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1869), it is one of the landmark ancient buildings in Yichang and among the Eight Scenic Sights of ancient and modern Wufeng County. In January 1994, the Yichang Municipal People's Government designated it as one of the first batch of municipal-level key cultural relics under protection.

According to local legend, the geological vein beneath Wufeng County and its vicinity was light and unsubstantial, while that of neighbouring Changyang County was heavy and solid. The local spiritual energy tended to disperse outwards, making it hard for the region to cultivate outstanding talents. Therefore, this pagoda was erected to suppress the wandering qi.

The pagoda has a stone foundation, brick walls and a bronze top. It is a seven-storey hexagonal structure with a total height of more than 30 metres. Embedded above the ground-floor gate is a horizontal stone tablet roughly three chi long and two chi wide, carved with three characters: Xingwen Ta (Pagoda of Literary Prosperity). Flanking the tablet are two stone strips inscribed with a couplet: Up the cloud ladder, we delight to inscribe verses above wild geese;

The heavenly palace unfolds afar, we tread steadily upon the divine turtle. The date and builders’ names are also carved below the couplet. The calligraphy is powerful and archaic, widely copied by calligraphy lovers.

From the second to the sixth floors, round stone windows are installed on each of the six sides. The top floor has six round gates decorated with various patterns. The whole building features elaborate design, rigorous structure, classic elegance and a steady silhouette.

Built with blue bricks and stone blocks, Xingwen Pagoda consists of seven hexagonal storeys plus a spire, with a total height of 22.38 metres and a floor area of 42 square metres. The ground floor is 5 metres tall, with each side stretching 4 metres. The gate pillars are polished rectangular stone blocks. The couplet is carved on the front faces of the pillars, topped by a horizontal plaque bearing the three-character title Xingwen Ta, each character measuring one chi square, with the construction date carved on the side.

Round arched viewing windows with a diameter of 0.7 metres open on the four cardinal directions of the second floor and on the north and south sides of the third floor. Arched viewing windows (1.4 metres high and 0.7 metres wide) are set on the left and right sides of the fourth, fifth and sixth floors, as well as on the north and south sides of the seventh floor. The original top before restoration was built of blue bricks and bluestones in seal character styling, while the spire is cast from alloy in the shape of a precious vase. Every tier is equipped with eaves and bell corners supported by layered blue bricks and bluestones