◎Dingzhou Pagoda

Dingzhou Pagoda,formerly known as Kaiyuan Temple Pagoda,was built in 1001 and completed in 1055.It was built to worship the Buddhist scriptures fetched by Venerable Master Lingneng of Kaiyuan Temple from ancient India.As the tallest existing brick-and-wood tower in China with a height of 83.7 meters,it enjoys the reputation of“No.1 Pagoda of China.”

Dingzhou Pagoda,with dignified and mighty presence,consists of three parts: base,body and Buddhist ornamentation on the top.The pagoda body,consisting of eleven levels,is an octagonal pavilion-styled building,with the size reducing from bottom to top in proportion.There are 34 inscriptions and several celebrity inscriptions from the Northern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty in the pagoda,as well as bucket arches with colored paintings,which are called“Important Remains of Architectural Color Paintings in the Northern Song Dynasty.”In particular,the murals of Buddhist figures of the Song Dynasty on the walls of the corridor in the southwest of the pagoda still feature bright colors and vivid characters after 1,000-odd years.Precious cultural relics such as the Diamond Sutra have also been found in the pagoda.As a Buddhist pagoda integrating architectural art,Buddhist culture,calligraphy and painting art,Dingzhou Pagoda has an important position in the history of ancient Chinese architecture.