【Northern Song Dynasty】 Liuhe Pagoda

Liuhe Pagoda (六和塔), literally Pagoda of Six Harmonies, is one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units in China. It stands in the south of West Lake on Yuelun Hill (月轮山) beside Qiantang River. In the third year of Kaibao Years in the Northern Song Dynasty (970 AD), in order to calm the tidal bore of Qiantang River, the king of Wuyue State sent Zen Master Zhiyuan to build the pagoda. The current Liuhe Pagoda was rebuilt during the Southern Song Dynasty. Taking the meaning of "Six Harmonies (six principles that monks observed from inside and out as a group)" in Buddhism, it was named Liuhe Pagoda, which also refers to six elements, "Heaven, Earth and four directions". The pagoda is 59.89 meters high. The interior of the pagoda features seven stories of masonry, while the exterior is an octagonal, 13-storied timber structure. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty even wrote inscriptions for each floor of the pagoda. Someone once commented on the three famous pagodas in Hangzhou: Liuhe Pagoda is like a general, Baochu Pagoda is like a beauty, and Leifeng Pagoda is like an old monk. Viewing the Qiantang River from Liuhe Pagoda, you can see the magnificent Qiantang River Bridge and the broad river.

In 2021, it was selected into the list of "Top Ten Representative Historical and Cultural Buildings in Hangzhou" by the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism. The reason for the selection: Liuhe Pagoda was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty and carries the cultural information of more than a thousand years since the Southern Song, Ming and Qing dynasties. It is an important element of Qiantang culture and one of the most representative historical buildings in Hangzhou.