Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple

The central pagoda, Qianxun, was built in the ninth century under the Nanzhao kingdom, sixteen storeys and about sixty-nine metres tall in square brick, with two smaller octagonal pagodas of the tenth century flanking it and leaning slightly. The monastery around them was destroyed and the pagodas survived, standing through a series of major earthquakes including one in 1925 that levelled most of Dali; a crack opened in one and reportedly closed again in a later shock. A reflecting pool below gives the classic view with the Cangshan peaks behind, and a large temple complex was rebuilt uphill in the 2000s.

History

Legend says Dali was a swamp of dragons who sent disasters to drive people away, and the pagodas were built to deter them. The tallest, Qianxun, was built in the second half of the 9th century under the Nanzhao kingdom, and copper plates found at its top during repairs in 1979 record restorations in 1000, 1142 and 1145; it split in an earthquake on 6 May 1515 and closed again in an aftershock ten days later, and in the earthquake of 1925, when only one building in a hundred in Dali survived, all three stood. Chongsheng Temple, once the royal temple of the Kingdom of Dali, burned under the Qing and was rebuilt in 2005 (Wikipedia, Three Pagodas).

Highlights

• Qianxun pagoda - the ninth-century central tower of sixteen storeys.
• The two flanking pagodas - smaller tenth-century towers, slightly leaning.
• The reflecting pool - the standard view with Cangshan behind.
• The rebuilt monastery - modern halls climbing the hillside above.

When to go

March to June and September to November for clear skies; the mountain backdrop is often cloud-covered in the summer rains. Early morning gives the best light and the calmest pool.

What to expect

The pagodas cannot be entered or climbed. The large temple complex behind is a modern reconstruction. Entry is among the more expensive in Dali for a short visit.

Nearby

Dali old town lies south; Xizhou is north.

Key facts