The Three Pagoda Temple locates near the town of Dali. The Temple is formed by three independent pagodas arranged on the corners of a equilateral triangle. Their history can date back to Nanzhao Kingdom and Kingdom of Dali.
The Three Pagoda Temple is located about 1.5 km north of Dali. Three pagodas are the symbol of the temple, and even the symbol of Yunnan’s tourism. The three white pagodas are at the east foot of the tenth peak of the massive Cangshan Mountains and face the west shore of the Erhai Lake of the ancient Dali town.
The Three Pagodas inside the Temple are made of brick and covered with white mud. The elegant, balanced and stately style of architecture is unique in China’s ancient Buddhist construction history. The Three Pagodas are visible from miles away, serving as the landmark of the area.
The main pagoda, Qianxun Pagoda was built during 824-840 by king Quan Fengyou of the Nanzhao state. The pagoda is 69.6 meters high, making it one of the tallest pagodas in China. The central pagoda is square shaped and composed of sixteen stories. Each story has multiple tiers of upturned eaves. There is a carved shrine containing a white marble sitting Buddha statue at the center of each façade of every story. The pagoda is hollow from the first to the eighth story, surrounded with 3.3 meters thick walls. It is believed that the designers of the pagoda are supposed to have come from Xi’an, the capital of Tang Dynasty at that time and the location of another pagoda, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, which shares the similar style but is two hundred years older.
The other two sibling pagodas, built about one hundred years later, stand to the northwest and southwest of Qianxun Pagoda. They are 42.19 meters high. Different from the main Qianxun Pagoda, they are octagonal with ten stories. The center of each side of every story occupies a shrine containing a Buddha statue.
A lake Juying Chi is behind the Three Pagodas. The pond can reflect images of the Three Pagodas. This is a perfect scene in many travel guide books or photographic works.
The Three Pagodas Temple is famous for its resilience. It has endured several man-made and natural catastrophes over more than one thousand years. It was recorded that Qianxun Pagoda had been split in an earthquake on May 6th, 1515 (Ming Dynasty). However, the Pagodas surprisingly recovered ten days later in an aftershock. The most recent record of earthquake in the place occurred in 1925. Only one in one hundred buildings survived, but the Three Pagodas were safe and well-preserved.
As a unique scene in the world, the Three Pagoda Temple is a must-see on your itinerary in your tour.