Shibaozhai

A block of rock rises abruptly from the Yangtze bank at Zhongxian, and a temple on top was once reached by a chain hauled up the cliff. In 1819 a nine-storey wooden pavilion was built against the face, its interior a staircase, so that pilgrims could climb inside the structure to the summit temple; three more storeys were added in 1956, making twelve. When the Three Gorges reservoir filled, the water would have reached the base, so a coffer dam was built around the whole rock, leaving it as an island reached by a footbridge, with the pagoda now rising from inside a protective wall.

History

Before the pavilion was built, visitors to the temple on top of the rock were hauled up by chains. In 1819 a nine-storey pavilion was built against the cliff to carry people to the summit, the three-storey Purple Rain Pavilion to Manjusri was built at the top in the Xianfeng reign of 1850-1861, and in 1956 three more storeys were added to the tower (Wikipedia, Shibaozhai).

What to look for

• The red pagoda - twelve storeys of timber built against the cliff.
• The internal staircase - climbing to the summit temple inside the structure.
• The coffer dam - the wall built to keep the reservoir off the rock.
• The footbridge - the crossing to what is now an island.

When to go

March to May and September to November for mild weather; summer on the Yangtze is very hot. Cruise ships stop here on standard itineraries and crowd the pagoda when they do.

Practical notes

The dam wall around the base changes the setting considerably from older photographs. Stairs inside are steep and narrow. The visit is short, often an hour of a cruise schedule.

Nearby

Fengdu lies upstream; the Three Gorges begin downstream.

Key facts