Tianfeng Pagoda

Tianfeng Pagoda is located in Haishu District, Ningbo City. It was first built during the control of Wu Zetian (684-705). After the completion of the pagoda, Tianfeng Pagoda is a hexagonal pagoda about 51 meters high, including 14 layers with 7 above ground and 7 underground. Tianfeng Pagoda owns the features of sophistication and decency.

History

During 695-696, Tianfeng Pagoda had been built firstly with 14 layers. And in 950, it was named Tianfeng Yard. It was destroyed and rebuilt gradually in 1129 and 1144. And it was destroyed again in 1220. In 1798, the Pagoda only left a main body in a big fire.

In June, 1984, Ningbo Archaeological Research Institute excavated archaeological excavations in the palace under the earth, including more than 140 pieces of cultural relics of silver halls and silver towers. And in 1989, according to the pagoda features of Song Dynasty (420-479), the reconstruction of Tianfeng Pagoda was completed.

Legend

Ningbo faces the roaring East China Sea which is the crossing of Yongjiang River, Yao River and Fenghua River. One year, a shark appeared and often made trouble for the local people so that Ningbo suffered flood a lot.

There was an old mason in the Siming Mountain who hated the shark very much. In an early morning, he suddenly saw Siming Mountain very shinning and climbed to the top of the mountain. Finally, he found a red bright gems flashing in there. And then he took forty-nine days to cut it into a shinning pearl.

On this day, the shark came again to flood the Ningbo City. The old mason went down the mountain with the brightness dazzling people’s eye. The shark saw this and wanted to dive to the bottom of the water. However, this treasure finally killed the shark. Meanwhile, the sea was calm. The old mason determined to build a tower in the center of the Ningbo City to save this jewel. The second year, the tower was built successfully with the help of the local people. And this jewel was placed on the top layer of the tower to keep the city in safety.

Value of the Tianfeng Pagoda

There are more than 140 pieces of cultural relics of silver halls and silver towers in the pagoda. This pagoda and the treasures in the Tianfeng Pagoda play an important role in studying the architecture style of Song Dynasty (960-1279). Because of the original height of the Tianfeng Pagoda, people can appreciate the whole beautiful scenery of the Ningbo City.