For just five yuan, you can climb the ancient Ming Dynasty tower of Feiyun Tower in Lixian County

Feiyun Tower is located in Baotawan Village, the former Lidanzhen of Lixian County, standing on the north bank of the Li River on Ershentan. It is one of the two remaining ancient towers in the county. The pagoda is entirely built of bluestone, with seven floors in a pavilion style, standing 33 meters tall. At the corners of the tower base, there are relief sculptures of the eight great Vajra bearers, each with a charming and unique appearance, bulging eyes, short bodies, squatting legs, seemingly commanding and bearing immense weight. The diameter of the tower base is 13 meters, with a height of 6 meters, and the plan is octagonal. The tower body tapers upwards from the bottom layer. The top layer has a diameter of 7 meters and a height of 3.2 meters. Each level of the pagoda overhangs, with Buddha niches and inscribed texts on the outside. Inside the tower, there is a spiral staircase that allows you to climb to the top level, and the top of the tower features a gathered spire-style gourd-shaped treasure top. In 2002, Feiyun Tower was designated as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit. The construction process of Feiyun Tower was not smooth sailing and can be described as full of twists and turns, not easy at all. It spanned two dynasties, from the beginning to the final completion, standing proudly on the banks of the Li River, with a span of two hundred years. Ascending from the heart of the tower to the top level, there is a square stone pillar in the center, supporting the top of the tower. The stone pillar is red, said to be made of Shoushan stone from Fujian. There are inscriptions on all four sides of the pillar, in neat regular script, engraved in intaglio. The inscription on the north side reads 'In the sixteenth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, the prefect of Chengdu, Xie Panyun, led the officials and people of the state to rebuild', and the inscription on the south side reads 'In the twenty-second year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty, Qiao, the prefect of Lizhou, led the officials and people of the state to rebuild and complete it'. The east side is inscribed with the words 'The Empire is Consolidated', and the west side with 'The Culture Flourishes'. Feiyun Tower is accessible for climbing. The first few floors are quite dark, requiring a light, but you can eventually reach the sixth floor. Through the four doorways, you can see the distant river surface, with a broad view. Usually, there is a grandmother who guards the door, and for a fee of five yuan, you can enter. Although it was finally completed in the sixteenth year of the Jiaqing reign, the appearance of the tower still continues the style of the Ming Dynasty pagoda, very simple and also the most exquisite tower I have seen in Hunan Province. The tower body has more than a hundred Buddha statues, but essentially, it is still a Feng Shui tower.