Linwei District, Weinan City: Flying over Xiagui Ancient Town, aerial photography of Huizhao Temple Pagoda

On the north bank of the Wei River in Linwei District, Weinan City, there is an ancient town called Xiagui with a long history. The famous Tang Dynasty general Zhang Renyuan, the great poet Bai Juyi and the Song Dynasty Prime Minister Kou Zhun were born here, and it is known as the "Hometown of the Three Sages". Today, on the northeast side of Xiagui Town, stands the Huizhao Temple Tower, which has become the landmark building of the ancient town——

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May 1957 On March 31, the Shaanxi Provincial People's Committee announced this ancient pagoda as the second batch of provincial cultural relics protection units. At that time, the era was designated as "Tang" and the name was designated as "Ancient Pagoda in Xiagui Town, Weinan"; on September 6, 2008, the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government once again announced the tower as the fifth batch of provincial cultural relics protection units, and the era was changed to "Ming", the name was changed to "Huizhao Temple Pagoda".

On May 3, 2013, the Huizhao Temple Pagoda was announced by the State Council as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units. On the evening of July 19, 2021, my friend and I drove to Xiagui Town to use our drone to take aerial photos of the Huizhao Temple Pagoda.

At noon on June 27, 2016, my family and I set out from Xianyang and came to Huizhao Temple Pagoda for the first time. At that time, there was construction here and the temple was very dilapidated. In the blink of an eye, five years have passed, and the environment around the Huizhao Temple Pagoda has taken on a completely new look. The streets have become tidier! The temple has become magnificent! At that time, the former ancient pagoda was blocked and could not be seen outside the temple gate!

The newly built Huizhao Temple building faces north and south, with yellow walls and gray tiles. It is majestic and includes a mountain gate, a main hall and small buildings on the east and west sides. The drone rose from the street in front of the mountain gate. After flying over the mountain gate and the main hall from south to north, the majestic Huizhao Temple tower appeared in front of us.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Xiagui County had been established here. Later, after being abandoned many times, it was merged into Weinan County in the early years of the Yuan Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Xiagui Town was established. In 1978, it was renamed Xiaji Town. In April 2012, it was renamed Xiagui Town.

According to legend, Huizhao Temple was built in the Jin Dynasty and the pagoda was built in the late Tang Dynasty, but it was never completed. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the pagoda was rebuilt, and Kou Zhun, the famous prime minister at that time, donated money for its construction. Therefore, after the tower was completed, a statue of Kou Zhun was painted behind the tower. In the thirty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1556), a major earthquake occurred in Huazhou, and this ancient pagoda was destroyed. In the ninth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1581), it was rebuilt and stands today. After the founding of New China, the tower body was renovated and the tower foundation was reinforced.

The Huizhao Temple Pagoda is more than 30 meters high, with a square base and a side length of about 6 meters. The tower has nine floors in total, with brick eaves between the floors and fake coupon doors on all sides. On the top of the tower, flat bricks are piled up and pointed, and a copper Aquarius-style tower brake is installed. On the bottom floor of the tower, above the lintel, there are carved patterns such as two dragons playing with beads and unicorns and auspicious beasts. On both sides are stone-carved couplets in regular script: "The clouds protect the heavens and hang down the elephant religion, and the Qiu Pan pays homage to the emperor for thousands of calamities."

On the wall on the east side of the gate on the ground floor, there is a piece of "Reconstruction of the Pagoda Reconstruction of Xiagui Huizhao Temple" carved in the ninth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1581). The brief inscription records the "Great Guanzhong Earthquake" during the Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty and the process of rebuilding the tower.

After Huizhao Temple has gone through thousands of years of ups and downs and wars, the temples before the Qing Dynasty have disappeared. In the early years of the Republic of China, a main hall was built in front of the tower, covering an area of ??about 190 square meters. It is said that there are five Ming Dynasty bronze Buddhas about 2 meters high enshrined in the hall, with Sakyamuni Buddha in the middle, Life-Extension Medicine Buddha and Maitreya Bodhisattva on the left, and Amitabha and Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the right. It is solemn in shape and exquisite in craftsmanship. Both Buddha and Bodhisattva sit cross-legged on the lotus platform, and there is a small Buddha in relief on each lotus petal. Unfortunately, the door of the temple is locked and cannot be visited.

Looking down from a high altitude, in Xiagui Ancient Town, the newly completed main hall of Huizhao Temple is very conspicuous. However, the ancient Huizhao Temple Pagoda is hidden in the corner, like a beautiful girl hiding in the boudoir...