Qianxun Pagoda of Chongsheng Monastery in Dali City
Chinese Name: 大理崇圣寺千寻塔
Chinese Pinyin: Dali Chongsheng Si Qianxun Ta
English Name: Qianxun Pagoda of Chongsheng Monastery in Dali City
Type: pagoda
Height: 69.13 meters
Best Seasons: March to November, especially in spring time
Popular Activities: walking, eating, photography
Recommended Visiting Hours: about 2~3 hours
Opening Hours: 08:00~18:00
Ticket: 120 Yuan for the Entrance Ticket Fee, 25 Yuan for Battery Car
Address: at the foot of Yingle Peak of Cangshan Mountain, 1.5 km from Dali Old Town
Qianxun Pagoda of Chongsheng Monastery
Qianxun Pagoda(千寻塔) is located in Chongsheng Monastery of Dali City. It is the biggest one of the Three Pagodas. It is the hollow square pagoda with 16 stories. There is a marble Buddha statue in the shrine each story. The magnificent and well-known Qianxun Pagoda was built in Quan Fengyou Period(劝丰祐)(824-859) of Nanzhao Kingdom. Many sciptures and statues were founded in Qianxun Pagoda, which show the prosperous Buddhism of Nanzhao Kingdom.
How to Get to Qianxun Pagoda?
Travelers can use our private car taking to Qianxun Pagoda in Dali. If you are independent travelers, you can take bus or go by walking.
Dali Old Town – Three Pagodas Sightseeing Tourist Bus: The direct sightseeing buses between Dali Old Town Tourist Center and Chongsheng Three Pagodas are available during 08:30~17:30. It only needs 10 minutes for the drive.
Daili Old Town North Gate – Three Pagodas: Travelers can take 20~30 minutes’ walk from the North Gate of Dali Old Town to Three Pagodas. Buses also available and you can take No.19 bus from the North Gate to Three Pagoda Park.
History
The main pagoda, known as Qianxun Pagoda, reportedly built during 824-840 AD by King Quan Fengyou of the Nanzhao State, is 69.6 meters (227 feet) high and known as one of the tallest pagodas in Chinese history. The central pagoda is square shaped and composed of 16 stories; each story has multiple tiers of upturned eaves.
There is a carved shrine containing a white marble sitting Buddha statue at the center of each fa?ade of every story. The body of the pagoda is hollow from the first to the eighth story, surrounded with 3.3 meters (10 feet) thick walls. In 1978, more than 700 Buddhist antiques, including sculptures made of gold, silver, wood or crystal and documents, were found in the body during a major repairing work. The designers of the pagoda are supposed to have come from Xi’an, the capital of Tang Dynasty at that time and the location of another pagoda-Big Goose Pagoda, which shares the similar style but is 200 years older.
Useful Travel Tips
1. Battery Cars
Battery cars in the tourist area are available in several spots – Entrance Gate, Reflection Pond, Daxiongbao Hall, Wanghai Tower. It takes 25 Yuan for battery cars.
2. Photography Tips
Photographers should catch the best scenery of Three Pagodas and Chongsheng Temple in two famous spots – the Reflection Pond and Wanghai Tower. The Reflection Pond is a good site to capture full-face photo, pagoda, blue sky and white cloud reflection in the water, in this way, “the six pagodas” would get into your pictures. Standing on the top of Wanghai Tower, travelers can capture full view of Three Pagodas and Chongsheng Temple in a line and Erhai Lake from afar.
