Three Pagodas

The Three pagodas of Dali are situated between Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake. They stand high and grand, and are one of the famous sights of Dali.

The major tower of the Three pagodas is Qianxun Tower. It is square and as high as 69.13 meters, and has 16 floors. Like the Small Yan Tower and the Big Yan Tower in Xian, the Qianxun Tower is a typical building of Tang Dynasty. Looking up from the foot of the tower, you can see it stands high into the sky.

The foundation of the Tower is square and has tow layers. The lower layer has a perimeter which is as long as 33.5 meters. There are stone balusters around the layer, and on the end of the balusters are stone lions. The higher layer has a perimeter which is as long as 21 meters. To its east stands a stone wall which is engraved with the words "govern the mountains and rivers forever". They have been inscribed by Mu Shijie, the descendant of the leader of Qian Kingdom, Muying. The characters are grand and strong, and quiet has a verve. Behind the stone wall is the stele of Rebuilding the Three pagodas which was set up by the provincial people's government. About 70 meters to the west of Qianxun Tower, there are two small pagodas in the south and north with equal distance from Qianxun Tower. The two pagodas are octagonal brick pagodas with 10 dense eaves. Both of them are 42.19 meters high. The pagodas are empty from the first floor to the eighth floor with crosses supporting inside. The foundation is also octagonal. The two small pagodas are 97 meters away from each other. The three pagodas become three rival powers with unified overall arrangement and harmonious sculpt, and thus make a perfect whole.

During the one thousand years since the Three pagodas were built, they have gone through much. For example, they have undergone many strong earthquakes in the history. According to the historical records, in the year Zhengde 9 of Ming Dynasty (1514AD), there was a strong earthquake and Qianxun Tower got a crack as wide as two rulers which looked like a broken bamboo. Ten days later, the Tower was repaired. In 1925, another earthquake hit Qianxun Tower. The top fell and the state of the Tower became worse and worse. After the foundation of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party and People's Government attached great importance to the protection of cultural relics. The most remarkable thing during the maintaining was that people found more than 600 cultural relics of the periods of Nanzhao and Dali such as figures of Buddha, written sutras and so on, from the top and the foundation of Qianxun Tower. All these provide precious materials for studying the history, religion and culture during the periods of Nanzhao Kingdom and Dali Kingdom.

Travel tip

There is a newly built Daoying Park to the south of the Three pagodas. It is the best place for visitors to take photos of the Three pagodas.