The Best-Preserved Western Xia Pagodas: Baisikou Twin Pagodas

The Best-Preserved Western Xia Pagodas: Baisikou Twin Pagodas The Baisikou Twin Pagodas, located in Baisikou, Helan County, Yinchuan City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, are the best-preserved Western Xia pagodas, with a history of nearly 1,000 years. They are rare artistic treasures in the history of Chinese pagoda architecture. In 1988, the Baisikou Twin Pagodas were listed as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units. The twin pagodas are exquisitely designed, both in the form of octagonal dense-eave pagodas. The pagoda bodies are magnificent, with each level decorated with colored glazed tiles. The lotus petal finial on the top supports a thirteen-tiered wheel as the pagoda finial. The pagoda chambers are circular, with thick-walled hollow wooden floor structures inside. They feature straight vertical walls without bases and thick hollow walls, but the details vary. ▼The two pagodas of Baisikou Twin Pagodas differ slightly in height and exterior decoration. The east pagoda is 36 meters high, while the west pagoda is 34 meters high. The east pagoda is elegant, while the west pagoda is majestic. The twin pagodas stand facing each other from east to west, about 100 meters apart, both being octagonal thirteen-story pavilion-style brick pagodas. The pagodas rise directly from the ground without bases, with higher ground floors and plain surfaces. The south side has arched doors leading to the thick-walled hollow cylindrical pagoda chambers. The exact construction time of the Baisikou Twin Pagodas is unknown.