Explore Historical Sites: Nanping Tower

Towers are an important type of Chinese ancient architecture. In the early years of Buddhism's eastward spread, ancient towers served as dedicated buildings to shelter the Buddha Shakyamuni's relics or bury eminent monks' bones. With the spread and development of Buddhism, relic towers gradually evolved into symbols of the propagation and spread of Buddhism, merging with traditional Chinese architectural styles. Functionally, they evolved from ancillary temple structures to independent structures that combine utility and religion. Formally, they gradually evolved from low, solid burial mounds to towering high-rises that can be climbed.

Nanping Tower, located within Nanping Mountain Park in Changhua Town, Lin'an District, overlooks Changhua Creek and the whole town. The tower, named after the mountain on which it stands, was built during the Xining period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1068-1077). In the autumn of the sixth year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1667), the top of the tower was struck by lightning, and the tower gradually fell into disrepair; it was rebuilt in the sixteenth year of Kangxi (1677). The tower is 36.36 meters high, a mix of brick and wood in a pavilion style, hexagonal, seven-story, consisting of the tower base, body, and top. The base of the tower is the Xumi seat style with auxiliary steps on the ground floor. The first to third floors are from the original construction in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the fourth to seventh floors were rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. The tower base has a height of 10.68 meters and a width of 3.25 meters. It consists of two layers of arches and four layers of triangle-shaped bricks, which are stacked tightly to form a dome-shaped top. Each floor has a waist eave pedestal, supported by brackets, with doors and niches. The tower is hollow, with floors and wooden stairs on each level, and the tower finial consists of a basin, a gem, a dharma wheel, a canopy, a gem and a treasure bottle, respectively. Wooden galleries have been added around the large tower body, and the flat shape has evolved from square to hexagonal. The evolution in form and structure has not only expanded the space but also increased the tower's rigidity.

A thousand years of flowing light and rising shadows, and the sunrise and red clouds shelter the golden blessed land of Changhua, and Nanping Tower has now become a landmark cultural building in Changhua.