Kaiyuan Temple in Zhengding, Hebei (Northern and Southern Dynasties, Eastern Wei) - the only existing bell tower from the Tang Dynasty in China

Zhengding Kaiyuan Temple is located in the old city of Zhengding County, Hebei Province. It is a Han Buddhist temple with existing Tang Dynasty architectural remains including the Sumeru Pagoda and the bell tower. It is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The temple was first built in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (540 AD) and was originally named "Jingguan Temple". In the 11th year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty (591 AD), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (Yang Jian) ​​changed its name to "Jiehui Temple". In the first year of Tianshou in the Wu Zhou Dynasty (690 AD), it was changed to "Dayun Temple". In the 26th year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty) (738 AD), it was changed to Kaiyuan Temple and has been used since then. According to the "Praise and Preface to the Three Gate Towers of Jiehui Temple" from the 12th year of the Dali Period of the Tang Dynasty preserved in the temple, there were three gate towers with stone pillars, the Wild Goose Pagoda and the Dharma Ship Main Hall in the temple at that time. In the late Tang Dynasty, a bell tower was added on the east side of the main hall. During the Daguan period (1107-1110) of the Northern Song Dynasty (Emperor Huizong of Song), the three gate towers were rebuilt and the event was inscribed on the stone pillars of the gate towers. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, buildings such as the Heavenly King Hall, the Kalayana Hall, and the Jiegu Hall were successively built. After being destroyed in the 20th century, only the Sumeru Pagoda, the bell tower and the main hall of the Dharma Ship remain. The main hall of Kaiyuan Temple is at the back, with the tower and bell tower standing opposite each other in front of the hall. This layout is a precious example of the transition of Tang Dynasty temples from a pagoda-centered to a palace-centered layout. The Sumeru Pagoda is located on the west side of the ruins of the Fachuan Hall. It was built in the tenth year of the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty (636 AD) by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. It is a nine-story dense-eaves square pagoda, 42.6 meters high. Its appearance has obvious Tang Dynasty pagoda style, similar to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, and is 16 years earlier than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The bell tower is opposite to the Sumeru Pagoda and is the only extant bell tower from the Tang Dynasty in China. The bell tower is a two-storey pavilion-style building, 14 meters high, with a square plan, three rooms wide and deep, and a double-eaved hip roof with green tiles. Liang Sicheng believed in "History of Chinese Architecture" that "the lower layer of the outer eaves seems to be in the style of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, while the upper layer was built in the Qing Dynasty." The bronze bell hanging on the upper floor is also a relic from the Tang Dynasty. In the southeast of the temple there is a giant stone-carved Bixi, which is 8.4 meters long, 3.2 meters wide, 2.6 meters high and weighs 107 tons. It is known as the "No. 1 Bixi in the World". It is a cultural relic from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960), unearthed in Zhengding City in 2000 and placed here.