The oldest tower in Beijing with rich musical rhythm - the Tianning Temple Tower in Beijing

01 The Long History of Tianning Temple Pagoda

Not far from the west bank of the moat outside Guang'anmen in Xicheng District, Beijing, there is a historic Buddhist temple called Tianning Temple. In history, it was once located in the cities of Youzhou in the Tang Dynasty, Nanjing in the Liao Dynasty, and Zhongdu in the Jin Dynasty. It is an important object for studying the development history of Beijing and an important witness to Beijing's status as a historical and cultural city.

In Tianning Temple, there stands the tallest brick pagoda with dense eaves in the urban area of Beijing. It was built 890 years ago in the ninth year of the Tianqing reign of the Liao Dynasty (1119) and is the oldest ground level building in the urban area of Beijing. If all the buildings in Beijing are recorded in chronological order, then the first page should describe the Tianning Temple Pagoda. It has gone through time and war without any loss. Whenever the wind blows into the pine trees or the rain falls, 3600 wind chimes sing with the pine waves, leaving an unforgettable impression on many literati and poets; There is also a thriving incense market in a secluded place. On the eighth day of the lunar new year, monks in the temple light the iron lamps on each layer of the tower, with 360 lamps shining like beans, illuminating the tower and shining brightly against the stars in the sky. People from far and near gather here to observe the lamps and worship Buddha, praying for good weather and good luck.

02 The Secret of Tianning Temple Pagoda

The Pagoda of Tianning Temple in Beijing is an octagonal thirteen story solid brick pagoda with dense eaves, with a total height of 57.8 meters. The brick tower is built on a huge square platform. On the large platform, there are two octagonal platform tower bases, on which there are lotus pedestals carved with lotus flowers, lion heads, Buddha statues, strongmen, and other sculptures. On the lotus tower pedestal is a tall tower gate layer, and above the tower gate layer are thirteen layers of closely eaved towers. The tower is generally classified as a "seven level floating slaughter", with thirteen floors being the highest level and usually granted royal permission. In the past, there were copper tower bells hanging on each floor of the Tianning Temple Pagoda, sounding melodious and pleasant in the wind. The sound lasted for several miles until the copper bells gradually fell during the Qing Dynasty. In January 1988, the Tianning Temple Pagoda was announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit.

The oldest above ground architecture in Beijing, with exquisite brick carvings and the Liao Jin standard

The brick carvings of the Tianning Temple Pagoda are smooth, simple, and vivid, with the lines of "winning the city's chariots and horses, bringing jade people together to see the flowers"; It also attracted many literati and scholars to visit at that time, who either enjoyed the scenery of the temple and the towering Tianning Temple Pagoda, or bid farewell to friends who had left the capital. The elegant environment in the temple, along with the fantastic paintings, has many poems that have been passed down to this day.

Thinking of the Tianning Temple Pagoda with Burning Lanterns

The tower emits layers of fire, and the pine trees chirp in the night waves "is an ancient praise for the Tianning Temple Pagoda. The Tianning Temple Pagoda at night appears particularly solemn under the illumination of lights, and the stone carvings and murals are lifelike under the rendering of lights, full of mysterious ancient colors, making people indulge in infinite imagination!

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03 Arrival

Standing in front of the tower, the Tianning Temple Tower stands quietly amidst the people and events passing by. They are so different in terms of time, function, construction techniques, and so on, filled with tension in time and space. This tension freezes time, intertwines space, and easily leads visitors to fall into complex thoughts, giving rise to many reflections on the universe, life, and others.

04 Product Show

Standing in front of the Tianning Temple Pagoda, we are impressed by its solemnity; We are attracted by its dazzling display in the night sky lights! Let's walk into Alite together and take a look at this magical product

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