Ba Si Kou Twin Pagodas

The Ba Si Kou Twin Pagodas are located in Ba Si Kou, Helan County, Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. They are the most well-preserved Western Xia Buddhist pagodas and have a history of nearly 1,000 years. They are rare artistic treasures in the history of Chinese Buddhist pagodas and have high historical and cultural value, research value, and ornamental value in terms of Western Xia archaeology, architecture, and Buddhism. From the 11th to 13th centuries, the Ningxia region was an important area of the Western Xia Dynasty. The Western Xia people revered Buddhism. The rulers spared no expense in asking the Song Dynasty for Buddhist scriptures and invited great monks from the distant Western Regions to preach. Both the Western Xia royal family and the common people worshipped Buddha, and Buddhism was extremely prosperous. At that time, there were many famous temples and pagodas in the Western Xia region, most of which were distributed in the valleys on the eastern foot of the Helan Mountains. The founding emperor of the Western Xia Dynasty, Yuan Hao, believed in Buddhism and was well-versed in Buddhism from a young age. Under his advocacy, the Western Xia people built the Buddha Temple in Ba Si Kou, Helan Mountain. The temple was very large, and the Ba Si Kou Twin Pagodas were built with the temple. In 1986, the Ningxia Cultural Relics Management Department did not find an underground palace when reinforcing and repairing the twin pagodas, but a dome-shaped pagoda room was found at the top of the west pagoda. A precious Mongolian Khanate silver coin "Da Chao Tong Bao" was unearthed in the pagoda room; one "Zhong Tong Bao Chao" 300 Wen and 500 Wen banknotes from the early Yuan Dynasty; and one silk Buddhist Tantra Thangka "Master Figure". On January 13, 1988, the Ba Si Kou Twin Pagodas were announced as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units. The twin pagodas are located in Ba Si Kou, western Helan County, Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Ba Si Kou Twin Pagodas