Chengtian Temple Pagoda (West Pagoda)

Background

Chengtian Temple Pagoda, commonly called the West Pagoda, is the main structure of Chengtian Temple. According to the stele erected when the pagoda was completed, in the first year of the Western Xia Tianyou Chuisheng era (1050), Empress Dowager Mozang built the temple and pagoda to pray for blessings for Emperor Yizong, Li Liangzuo, who had ascended the throne at just one year old, naming it Chengtian Temple after the phrase "Chengtian guming" (receiving Heaven's mandate). It is the only Western Xia pagoda found so far with a clearly recorded construction date. During the Western Xia, Chengtian Temple was an important site for imperial Buddhist ceremonies and sutra translation. The temple had been destroyed by the early Ming and was later restored; the pagoda was toppled in the great Yinchuan earthquake of the third year of Qianlong (1738) and rebuilt in its original form in the 25th year of Jiaqing (1820). Today's pagoda is an octagonal, pavilion-style brick pagoda of 11 storeys, about 64.5 m tall, the tallest surviving brick pagoda in Ningxia. When Japanese forces bombed Yinchuan in 1939, the air-raid shelter in the pagoda courtyard was hit, killing dozens of people. In 2006 Chengtian Temple Pagoda was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Local customs

• Chengtian Temple faces east. The front courtyard holds the Five Buddhas Hall and the pagoda, the rear courtyard has the Weituo Hall and the Reclining Buddha Hall, and the whole is enclosed by festooned gates and walls. The pagoda has an internal staircase and could be climbed in the past
• whether climbing is allowed depends on on-site arrangements. The pagoda courtyard is quiet and well suited to slowly circling the pagoda.

Religion & beliefs

Chengtian Temple is a Buddhist temple: remove your hat and speak softly when entering the halls, and do not fool around or pose for photos in front of the Buddha statues. The pagoda courtyard is also where victims of the 1939 air raid died, so please visit with a solemn attitude and do not make noise at the related memorial spots. If monks are chanting sutras or holding a ceremony, wait quietly on the periphery.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Allow about 1 hour. Chengtian Temple Pagoda is in the southwest of the old city in Xingqing District, Yinchuan, about 10 minutes by taxi or bus from the Drum Tower area. Some travel platforms have recently shown the site as temporarily closed, so be sure to confirm its opening status, hours and whether you can climb the pagoda through Yinchuan's official culture and tourism channels or by phoning the site before you go. Combine with the Ningxia Museum (Jinfeng District), the Nanguan Grand Mosque, the Drum Tower and Yuhuang Pavilion for a half-day old-city itinerary
• set aside another half day for the Western Xia Imperial Tombs outside the city to compare the Western Xia royal tombs with the pagoda in town. The view at the foot of the pagoda is open, letting you observe the changes in the eaves from different angles. Summer sun in Yinchuan is strong and afternoons are hot, so go early or late.