When traveling to Taiyuan, besides Jinci, you must climb this tower!

In Taiyuan city, there is a tower that can still be climbed to the top, which is the brick tower of Yongzuo Temple built in the Ming Dynasty. Yongzuo Temple is now known as "Shuangta Temple". There are two octagonal thirteen-story brick towers in the temple, 54.7 meters high. I prefer the name "Yongzuo Temple", "Yongzuo" comes from the Book of Songs, which means "forever passed down, never exhausted for all generations". The north gate of Shuangta Temple is closest to the scenic area. After passing a super large square, you can reach the ticket checking entrance. The scenic area closes at 5:30 pm. I arrived after 5 pm. There was a long line of people queuing to climb the tower. The security guard said that tourists in the scenic area can continue to climb the tower after closing. So I sat under the big locust tree opposite the tower, watching the wind blowing the locust flowers, watching everyone queueing up lively, it was very cool under the tree, very comfortable. At nearly six thirty, there were basically no people, and I started to climb the tower. The tower is hollow inside, with a circle of stone steps around it. The stone steps are flanked by walls. The higher you go, the narrower it becomes. Later, only one person can pass. You can climb to the 11th floor, and each floor can reach the window through the center of the tower. The stones on the stone steps and walls have been coated with slurry. The windows on each floor should not have been locked originally. Everywhere you can see has been carved with words, even on the eaves outside. Maybe thousands of years later, these "been here" words and time will become the research objects of future generations, and become a part of history and humanities? Some names are very wide and deep, carved on hard stones, I really wonder what the people who have been here used and how long it took to carve. I sat at each window on the highest floor for a while. At that time, the setting sun was just right, the breeze was blowing, you could see the tower opposite, the lake in the distance, and the trees in the park, all covered with a gentle light. I don't know how many people have looked out from the same window at this time. Such a high tower was built by craftsmen brick by brick in the past. Over the centuries, monks, residents, and tourists have climbed up and down, with different moods and purposes, different times and environments, but the stone steps and stone walls they have passed are the same, which is really amazing.