Wan Bu Hua Yan Jing Tower

Wan-Bu-Hua-Yan-Jing Tower (meaning ten-thousand-volume Huayan Scripture Tower), also called White Tower (since the tower is white all through thus has another name White Pagoda), was said to be built in Emperor Shengzong's reign (983 -- 1031) of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125). It is located in the White Tower Village of the east suburb of Hohhot, 18 kilometers away from the urban area. It was originally a tower of Buddhist temple where the Buddhist scripture was collected and preserved. The White Pagoda is an octagonal pagoda of brick-wood structure, is characterized by the architectural style of the Liao Dynasty. The tower is 55 meters high with seven stories, looking grand and magnificent. The upper part of the base was built in the shape of blossoming lotus petals. On the surface of the tower are carved the exquisite relief sculptures of Buddha, Bodhisattva, Heavenly Kings and dragons, which are all true to life and pleasing in form. A finely-made circling stairs inside the pagoda are for tourists to climb onto the top, from where they can enjoy the enchanting sceneries around. Six tablets of the Jin Dynasty and more than 200 scriptures written in quite a few languages including Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, and the languages of Nuzhen, Khitan and other ethnic groups that demonstrate that each ethnic group has associated and exchanged culture with each other for a long time, which are all well preserved on the walls inside the tower. All this records the history and customs of the ancient town called Fengzhou. As this tower is one of the most exquisite towers of the Liao Dynasty in China, it was appointed to be a unit under the key protection and preservation by the state council in 1982.