The Four-Door Pagoda is located 4 kilometers northeast of Liubu Town, Licheng District, Jinan, Shandong Province. It is the existing stone pagoda of the Sui Dynasty in China and also the earliest single-story pavilion-style stone pagoda in China. The Four-Door Pagoda originally belonged to Shentong Temple. The temple was built in the first year of Emperor Fu Jian of the Former Qin Dynasty (351). It is the earliest temple in Shandong Province. Later, the temple was destroyed by a big fire in the late Qing Dynasty. There are remaining Buddhist relics such as the Four-Door Pagoda, the Dragon and Tiger Pagoda, the Nine-Top Pagoda, the tomb pagoda forest, and cliff carvings. Among them, the Four-Door Pagoda was built in the late Sui Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,300 years. It is currently the oldest existing single-story pavilion-style stone pagoda in China. The Four-Door Pagoda is in a flat square shape and is built with large bluestones produced locally. It is very hard. There is no weathering and erosion in more than a thousand years. The tower body of the Four-Door Pagoda is entirely made of huge bluestones. It is single-story, square, 15 meters high, and 7.4 meters in side length. There is an arch on each side, so it is commonly known as the ‘Four-Door Pagoda’. The Four-Door Pagoda is composed of a tower foundation, tower body, tower eaves and a pagoda top. Five layers of stones are stacked on the tower body to form a conical roof with four corners of the tower, and a stone pagoda brake is placed on it. There is a square platform in the center of the tower. There is a square tower central pillar on the platform. The top of the tower is connected to the tower body by sixteen triangular stone beams. There is a main Buddha statue on each side of the tower central pillar, and two bodhisattvas and disciples on the left and right. At present, only the main Buddha remains. Each Buddha statue is carved from a whole piece of marble. The Buddha statues all have snail hair and fleshy buns, plump faces, fine eyebrows and kind eyes, high noses and long ears, and upturned corners of the mouth. They are serene and tranquil. These Buddha statues are exquisitely carved and vivid, with smooth knife techniques and clear decorations. They are extremely rich in the aesthetic spirit of Chinese culture and art and are precious Buddhist artworks. Opening hours: Open all year round from 07:30 to 17:30. Preferential policies: Children: Free for those under 1.2 meters (inclusive) in height. Elderly: Free for those aged 60 (inclusive) or above with valid certificates. Disabled people: Free with relevant valid certificates. Military personnel: Free with relevant valid certificates. Students: Full-time primary, secondary and college students (excluding adult education and postgraduates) have preferential tickets. Must-see tips: Spring, summer and autumn are good seasons to visit the Four-Door Pagoda. Spring is the season when peach and pear blossoms are in full bloom. In summer, you can come here to escape the heat and taste all kinds of mountain delicacies. Autumn is the time when chestnuts, peaches and hawthorns are harvested.
Four-Door Pagoda
The Four-Door Pagoda is located 4 kilometers northeast of Liubu Town, Licheng District, Jinan, Shand[...]
