Yunsheng Pagoda

Opening Hours: Open all day Ticket Fee: Free of charge Location: Jinping Hill on the south bank of the Xijiang River, Wuzhou City Best Visiting Seasons: Spring and Autumn Complaint Hotline: 0774-3856362

As the eastern gateway of Guangxi, Wuzhou serves as a vital transportation hub linking Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao with the vast southwest of China.

Endowed with convenient waterways, Wuzhou has been a renowned trading port since ancient times. Situated in the middle reaches of the Pearl River Basin, it borders Guangdong, lies close to Hong Kong and Macao, and is backed by the expansive southwest mainland. Most import and export goods from southwest China passed through Wuzhou, sailing down the Xijiang River to Guangzhou and then onward to Hong Kong. For this reason, Wuzhou became one of the most important commodity distribution centers in southwest China and a key thoroughfare for cargo trade. It has more than a century of history as an open trading port and has long been a commerce-based city.

Inland river shipping dominates local transportation. Wuzhou is the core water transport hub and major trading port of Guangxi, known as "Guangxi’s Water Gateway". It ranks as China’s second-largest inland river port, second only to Guangzhou, and has established trade ties with over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Highways form the backbone of land transport, connecting Wuzhou with all neighboring cities. In addition, the railway linking Wuzhou and Yulin is under construction. Boasting a time-honored commercial tradition and well-developed transport, Wuzhou offers an excellent investment environment and stands as an ideal destination for investors.

Wuzhou enjoys well-connected land transportation. National Highways G321 and G207 intersect within the city. The Xijiang River Bridge, completed after 1990, connects these two major highways, enabling unimpeded road travel between Wuzhou and Guangzhou, Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Zhuhai and Shenzhen. First-class highways and expressways run from Wuzhou to Guangzhou and Shenzhen; a Class II highway connects Wuzhou and Nanning; an expressway to Guilin is planned. Travelling north or south from Wuzhou is extremely convenient.

Following the completion of the first Xijiang River Bridge, the Second Xijiang River Bridge (Yunlong Bridge), the Third Guijiang River Bridge (Yuanyang River Bridge), as well as Zizhu Bridge and Lianhua Bridge leading to Lianhua Hill were built one after another, forming an extensive urban and cross-border highway network. The Luoyang-Zhanjiang Railway passing through Wuzhou was included in the Ninth Five-Year Plan of the central government, and a high-standard, multi-directional transport network is gradually taking shape.

Wuzhou Changzhou Island Civil Airport was built on Changzhou Island, approximately four kilometers from the municipal government square in 1994. The airport can accommodate Boeing 737 and MD82 aircraft. It operates air routes from Wuzhou to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and other cities, and will resume flights to Hong Kong.

The pagoda stands on Jinping Hill on the south bank of the Xijiang River in Wuzhou. It was constructed in the 3rd year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1823). Ruan Yuan, Viceroy of Liangguang, composed a poem for it:

The pagoda was thus named Yunsheng, which means "soaring upward". According to local legend, the pagoda was a writing brush tossed down by Lü Dongbin to rescue a pair of mandarin ducks.

It is a seven-storey brick pagoda in the pavilion style with a hexagonal plane. Each side of the base measures 3.9 meters, and the total height reaches 36 meters. The eaves are formed with overlapping brick tiers. Arched gateways are built on the front of the ground floor as well as the third to seventh floors. Rectangular and round windows alternate on each side of the second floor. On the remaining floors, five square windows are staggered vertically and horizontally. The roof features a hexagonal pyramidal spire. Originally, wooden floors and staircases were installed inside each storey. Stone plaques inscribed by Ruan Yuan above the gateways bear the inscriptions: Splendid Scenery Overlooking Wujiang River, Civilization Nurtured by Observation of Natural Patterns, and Radiance Shooting Toward the Big Dipper. The pagoda underwent renovation in 1982, when the wooden staircases were replaced with iron ones