Yingxian Wooden Pagoda and Jingtusi Temple

After 25 years, we returned to the ancient city of Yingxian in Shuozhou to see the Foguang Temple Shakyamuni Pagoda, also known as the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. I vaguely remember the old streets and traditional houses of Yingxian ancient city surrounding the tall wooden pagoda, with few tourists and locals busy with their own lives. We departed from Datong and took the Erguang Expressway to Yingxian, about a 75-minute drive. Following Yingbin North Road, we arrived at Yingyuan Street, where the south gate of the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda Scenic Area is located. It is a flat, clean pedestrian street paved with bluestone, flanked by exquisite antique-style buildings, mostly two-story pavilions with red pillars and flying eaves, with various shops open for business. Not far ahead is the paifang (archway) in front of the scenic area. North of the paifang is a small square and a wide passage. At the entrance of the passage stands a white marble statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, and at the end of the passage is a xieshan-style building with a plaque reading "Foguang Temple." Behind Foguang Temple towers the majestic wooden pagoda, which has withstood nearly a thousand years of wind and rain and endured the ravages of war, yet still stands firm—a marvel of "fleeting time, a millennium of splendor." The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda was first built in the second year of Qingning in the Liao Dynasty (1056), consisting of the pagoda base, body, and finial, with a total height of 67.31 meters. The octagonal pagoda body has five stories and six eaves, with large plaques hanging under each eave. Each floor inside houses Buddha statues; the first floor enshrines an 11-meter-tall golden statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, with murals painted on the walls, open for visitors. The Buddha statues on the upper floors are smaller, and access to these floors is prohibited. About 450 meters outside the east gate of the wooden pagoda scenic area lies Jingtusi Temple, also known as the North Temple. During the Cultural Revolution in 1966, most buildings and Buddha statues were destroyed, leaving only the Mahavira Hall and its side halls, which is deeply regrettable. The Mahavira Hall was originally built in the second year of Tianhui in the Jin Dynasty (1124) and rebuilt in the 24th year of Dading (1184). It is the only surviving original Jin Dynasty structure, featuring a single-eave xieshan roof, three bays wide and three bays deep. Inside, the ceiling is a nine-compartment caisson, carved from tens of thousands of fine wooden components into models of heavenly palaces and pavilions, regarded as the pinnacle of Jin Dynasty architectural art. The walls are adorned with murals repainted during the Qing Dynasty. The open space between the mountain gate and the Mahavira Hall may soon be filled with new buildings.