Named ‘Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda’ due to the inscription of ‘Zhaoguan’ on the tower, it is also known as ‘Bottle Tower’ because of its bottle-like shape. It is said to have been built during the marriage alliance between Sun Quan and Liu Bei in the Three Kingdoms period, and was then referred to as the ‘Stone Bottle’. However, it was actually constructed at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda is a Lamaist-style stone pagoda, with the lower half built from blocks of stone, forming four stone pillars. The top is covered with slab stones, creating a framework-shaped platform that allows for the passage of people and horses. It lies across the middle of a small street, adding a great deal of quaint elegance to this riverside town. The pagoda is built on this platform, standing 4.69 meters tall. The base, body, and top of the pagoda are all carved from bluestone. The base consists of two identical Brahma seats stacked together, with a lotus round seat and a drum-shaped pagoda body above. There are 13 belt reliefs above, symbolizing the 13 heavens, topped with a Dharma wheel and a circular lotus seat, on which the ‘Eight Treasures’ are engraved. Above this is the pagoda’s top. The east and west horizontal beams of the stone pagoda platform have the same inscriptions, with the names of the county magistrates and prefects of Dandu and Zhenjiang inscribed on the left and right. It is open all year round and accessible 24 hours a day.
Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda
Named ‘Zhaoguan Stone Pagoda’ due to the inscription of ‘Zhaoguan’ on the to[...]
