Visit Yifeng Prince Pagoda and explore the remains of the ancient Tang Dynasty temple

#MarchGoodPlaces2025 Hidden in Nanping Park in Yifeng, Jiangxi, there is a thousand-year-old temple - the Prince's Pagoda. This Tang Dynasty tomb tower, like a silent guardian of history, stands quietly on the hillside of Hanfeng Mountain, telling the story of the spiritual practice of Li Xi, the fourteenth son of Emperor Suzong of Tang. The Prince's Pagoda was built around the beginning of the 9th century. It is made of carved and stacked granite. The tower is 4.5 meters high and has a square plan. The base is a double-layer Sumeru pedestal. The tower body and the pagoda top are both intricately carved with images of arhats, showing the unique wooden structure characteristics of the Tang Dynasty. Strolling under the tower and carefully observing the details of the tower body, one can find that the carvings on the imitation wood structure are exquisite and delicate, the column capitals are not square, the brackets are double-copied and full-hearted, there are mud road brackets horizontally protruding from the bracket mouths, there are no Ling brackets on the jump heads, and no short replacement wood, which is consistent with the characteristics of the Dabaoguang Pagoda in Ganzhou, Jiangxi and the Tang Dynasty Pagoda in the third cave of Bingling Temple in Yongjing, Gansu, showing the essence of Tang Dynasty wooden structures. The Prince's Tower is not only a witness to history, but also a crystallization of art. The rafters on the tower adopt a checkered pattern, similar to the rafters of the Golden Hall of Toshodaiji Temple in Nara, Japan. The design of parallel rafters under the eaves is also exactly the same as that of the Golden Hall of Toshodaiji Temple, showing the unique charm of Tang Dynasty architecture. In 1983, the Prince's Tower was restored and moved to its current location, where it has been preserved to this day and has become an important cultural heritage of Yifeng County. When you come to the Prince's Pagoda, you can not only feel the exquisite craftsmanship of Tang Dynasty architecture, but also experience the fusion of history and culture. This quietly standing ancient temple is like a bright lamp, illuminating the long river of history and leading tourists into the distant Tang Dynasty to feel the tranquility and solemnity.