Taipingxingguo Temple Pagoda

Also known as East Pass Pagoda, the Taipingxingguo Temple Pagoda stands inside Taipingxingguo Temple at the East Pass of the county seat. First built in the early Song Dynasty, the temple was repeatedly destroyed by wars over successive dynasties, yet the pagoda survived intact.

It is an eight-storey, hexagonal multi-eaves pavilion-style brick pagoda with spiral staircases. The present height above the ground reaches 30 metres, and its diameter is 7.06 metres. Buddhist niches, decorative patterns, fake doors and false windows are inlaid both inside and outside the tower. The brackets under the eaves were built to imitate wooden structures. Boasting a solemn and simple appearance, it is a major ancient building of the county. The upper three storeys were renovated in the 25th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1546 AD), with an inscription carved on the pagoda top to record the project.

In 1938, when Japanese invaders attacked Wei County, the northwest corner of the second storey and the northeast and northwest corners of the third storey were damaged by artillery fire. Later, when Chiang Kai-shek ordered the dykes at Huayuankou to be blown open, the ensuing Yellow River flood silted up the lower part of the pagoda to a depth of more than one metre, and the main gate collapsed.

After the founding of New China, the Party and government strengthened cultural relic protection. In 1956, the Shandong Provincial People’s Committee designated it as a provincial-level cultural relic under protection. Funds were allocated in 1964 and 1982. The county cultural centre organised migrant workers to carry out maintenance and reinforcement work.

Having endured nearly a thousand years of wind and rain erosion, multiple earthquakes, Yellow River flooding and warfare, the pagoda still stands tall and magnificent today. It fully embodies the wisdom and superb architectural skills of ancient Chinese working people.

In June 2006, the State Council listed the Taipingxingguo Temple Pagoda as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.