The Chinese Pagoda - The Ying Tian Pagoda of Shaoxing's Tashan

Tashan Park, located within the territory of Shaoxing city, is a place where natural and cultural landscapes blend together. The mountain has many names, as it is also known as 'Guai Shan' due to the record in 'The Spring and Autumn of Wu and Yue' that states 'the mountain in the eastern sea of Langya came overnight.' It is also called 'Gui Shan' because the shape of the mountain resembles a turtle. During the Southern Dynasties, the monk Hui Ji built a temple called Baolin Temple on this mountain, hence it was also known as Baolin Mountain. There is also a pagoda on the mountain that was built during the Jin Dynasty called Ying Tian Pagoda, and Tashan is famous because of this pagoda. Together with Fu Mountain and Ji Mountain, it forms the 'Three Small Mountains of Shaoxing'. Tashan has many names and many attractions. During the Wu-Yue period, King Goujian of Yue built a 'Guai You Tai' on the mountain, which was used to observe the weather and unidentified phenomena in the sky. It can be said to be the earliest 'observatory' built in China, but this structure has disappeared. Other historical relics that have vanished include the Giant's Trace, Tin Staff Mark, Baolin Temple, Holy Mother Pavilion, and Wangyun Tower. However, the pagoda on the mountain has been well preserved. The Ying Tian Pagoda was originally built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Despite being destroyed and rebuilt several times, it still stands today. The pagoda is a hexagonal seven-story brick and wood mixed structure, with a solemn shape and harmonious colors, and is a crystallization of ancient architectural art. The Ying Tian Pagoda was originally a seven-level stupa of Baolin Zen Temple, built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It was renamed Ying Tian Pagoda during the Tang Dynasty. The pagoda was destroyed and rebuilt twice in history, once in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty's Qiande period (AD 963-968), and once in the third year of the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1524). The existing Ying Tian Pagoda is the relic of the reconstruction in the third year of the Jiajing period, with ten arches and flying eaves, and the building is majestic, with exquisitely carved Buddha statues and steles. In 1910, it was burned into a hollow pagoda by incense fire. The current pagoda was restored in 1984, and the only remaining component of the pagoda's top, cast in the thirteenth year of the Ming Jiajing period - the iron cast cover bowl, provides ample firsthand material for the restoration design of the pagoda's spire. The Ying Tian Pagoda is 30 meters high, hexagonal in shape, and has seven stories, standing tall and magnificent. As one of the oldest buildings in the ancient city of Shaoxing, the Ying Tian Pagoda is actually a benchmark and ruler, marking and measuring the historical and cultural elevation and thickness of the land of Shaoxing. It was announced as a city-level cultural relics protection unit in September 1961.