Vajra relic pagoda

Vajra relic pagoda

Jingangzuo relic pagoda is located in the southeast of the old city of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Because there are five square relic pagodas on the pagoda seat, it is called Wuta temple.

Vajra relic pagoda, built in the Qing Dynasty Yongzheng years (AD 18 century). The tower is made of brick and stone. The height of the tower is about 13 meters. It is built on a rectangular Vajra pedestal on the platform. Below it is xumizuo, and the waist part is carved with patterns such as lion, elephant, Falun, golden winged bird and Vajra pestle. The lower part of the pedestal is inlaid with Jin Gang scriptures written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit. The font is very neat, and the engraving is exquisite and meticulous. The upper part is a thousand Buddha niche, and the niche has a small space There are two statues of Buddha sitting on both sides of the pagoda pillars. On the niche are six words of truth in Sanskrit. In the middle of the south is a door with four heavenly kings.

The origin of history

In the middle of the door is inlaid with a stone plaque of "Vajra relic pagoda" written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese characters. There is no Liang hall in the door, and there are stairs leading to the seat in the southeast corner. There are five small towers on the seat, and there are stone carvings of Mongolian astronomical map embedded in the back of the tower. It is an important material for the study of Mongolian literature and history.

Vajra relic pagoda, built in Yongzheng period of Qing Dynasty, is about 16 meters high. Its body is made of glazed bricks. The lower part of the pagoda is the Vajra Sutra engraved in three kinds of characters, while the upper part is thousands of gilded Buddhas. It is exquisitely carved and exquisite. It is a Lamaism Pagoda with brick structure, which is no inferior to the five pagodas of dazhenjue temple in Beijing.

Establishment period

Vajra relic pagoda, built in the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty (1723-1735 AD), was originally a building in the cideng Temple (commonly known as the five Pagoda Temple). The other buildings in the temple have already collapsed, and only this tower stands alone.

Vajra relic pagoda is commonly known as five pagodas. It is located in wutasi street, the old city of Hohhot. It was originally a building in cideng Temple (commonly known as Wuta Temple). The temple has long been damaged, but the pagoda stands tall. The tower is a masonry structure, with a height of 13 meters and a rectangular plane.

Layout inside the tower

The Vajra seat is built on the platform base, and the lower layer is xumizuo. The waist part is carved with brick lion, elephant, Falun, golden winged Black and Vajra pestle. The lower part of the seat is inlaid with Vajra Sutra written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit. The carving is meticulous and the font is neat. The upper part of Vajra seat is a Buddhist niche, in which there is a Buddha statue, and on both sides are vase pillars. On the niche are Sanskrit six character mantra, on which the short eaves are picked out.

In the middle of the south side of Vajra, there is a door with four statues of heavenly kings beside it. On the center of the door, there are stone inscriptions of "Vajra relic pagoda" written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese characters. Inside the gate is the Wuliang hall, with steps leading to the Vajra seat in the East and West corners.

There are five small towers on Vajra tower, one of which has seven floors in the middle and the other four have five floors. The first floor of each pagoda is inlaid with brick carvings of Buddha, Bodhisattva and Bodhi tree; above the second floor, there are niches. There are 1563 gilt Buddha statues in the whole pagoda.

Precious cultural relics

There are three fine line carving stones embedded on the screen wall in the north of the tower, which are all precious cultural relics. The proportion of the whole tower is moderate, and the craft skills are exquisite and exquisite. It is a rare art building in ancient times. The shadow wall behind the tower is inlaid with stone carvings in Mongolian astronomical map, which is an important material for the study of astronomical history. Key cultural relics protection units in China.

Main structure

Vajra stupa is mainly composed of Vajra stupa and five square stupas. This form of pagoda appeared later in China and is rare. The tower is of masonry structure, with a height of about 13 meters and a rectangular plane. Beautiful shape, rigorous proportion,

He has high attainments in architectural art. The outside of the tower is decorated with carved glazed tiles, and the edges and corners are inlaid with white stones. The brilliant glaze is used for the peach eaves and pagoda temples with strong light, which are the key decoration.

The plane of Vajra seat is in the shape of "convex". It is built on a platform about one meter high. The lower part of the seat is xumizuo, and the waist part is decorated with brick patterns such as lion, elephant, Falun, golden winged bird and Vajra pestle. There are seven short overhanging eaves on the upper part of the seat. Under the first eaves are inlaid with Vajra scriptures written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit languages. The carving is meticulous. From the second floor to the seventh floor, there are 1119 gold-plated Buddha statues in various postures.

Sculpture art

There is an arch in the middle of the south side of the Vajra seat, and there are four statues of heavenly kings beside it. On the middle of the door is a white jade plaque of "Vajra seat relic pagoda" written in Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese characters. Inside the tower is a semicircle brick arch. Inside the door, there is a ladder at the East and West corners of the beamless hall, which leads to the top of the tower. At the exit is a Square Pavilion. In the north of the pavilion, there are five square relic pagodas, among which the small pagodas are seven stories out of eaves, and the four corner pagodas are all five stories out of eaves. The five pagodas are inlaid with brick carvings of Buddha, Bodhisattva, bodhi tree and Jingyun. The carvings are exquisite and beautiful.

On the north side of the pagoda, there are three carved stone lines, including the "Xumi mountain distribution map" and the "six paths reincarnation map" on the West. There are stone carvings of Mongolian astronomical map embedded in the back of the tower, which are rarely marked with minority characters. They are important materials for studying the history of astronomy.

The most valuable stone carving in Wuta temple is the Mongolian astronomical map close to the north wall. The diameter of the map is 144.5 cm. The center of the circle is the celestial pole to the north of the celestial sphere. It draws the meridian of the 28 constellations' right ascension. There are also five concentric circles. From the inside to the outside, there are the celestial Arctic Circle, the summer solstice circle, the celestial equatorial circle, the winter solstice circle, and the celestial Antarctica circle. So far, it is the only astronomical map marked in Mongolian in the world, which has high scientific research value.

Traffic tips

Food information

For example, shaomei, also known as shaomei, knife cut crisp, hada cake, a nest of silk, oil flavor, halal sauce beef, roast mutton kebab, etc.

Traffic information

At present, there is no direct bus in the city, but it is not far from the west gate of Qingcheng park. You can get off at this stop, or it is not too far from Dazhao temple. Of course, the simplest way is to take a taxi in the past. The starting price of a taxi in Hohhot is 8 yuan, 1.2 yuan per kilometer. The city is relatively small, and it doesn't cost much.

Accommodation information

All hotels and guesthouses in Hohhot are available. There is a Jinqiao hotel nearby and a guest house run by the Poverty Alleviation Office.

Adjacent scenic spots

Address: No.48, wutasihou street, Yuquan District, Hohhot

Longitude: 111.66460986631

Latitude: 40.799439194318

Ticket information: no ticket required. Included in the ticket of Wuta temple.

Chinese PinYin : Jin Gang Zuo She Li Bao Ta