Four Great Ancient Chinese Towers ⋆ China Life & Buying Guide

For most visitors to China, sightseeing means a daily encounter with Chinese architecture of one type or another ranging from temples, through gardens, mausoleums, pagodas and so on. Following Chinese towers is also a kind of unique Chinese architecture. Here we list four great Chinese towers. If you are interested in Chinese architecture, these towers are must-see attractions that you should never miss.

Yellow Crane Tower

, located on Snake Hill in Wuchang, together with Yueyang Pavilion in Hunan Province and Tengwang Pavilion in Jiangxi Province, is praised as the Three Most Notable Towers in the south of the Yangtze River . In China, even a 4-year-ole child may be know this attraction because of the famous poem named Huang He Lou which is the Chinese pronunciation of Yellow Crane Tower.

Due to the high frequency of being quoted or mentioned of this poem, everyone develops their unique feelings toward the Yellow Crane Tower before they witness the real features. In a word, Yellow Crane Tower deserves its fame.

With its original function of ministry gave place to a scenic spot for junketing and chanting in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Yellow Crane Tower had witnessed the artistic talent of many celebrities including Cui Hao, Li Bai, Bai Juyi, Jia Dao etc. Famous lines of some are still widely read nowadays.

Now the new tower is a five-story building with a height of 50.4 meters (165.4 ft). Murals, statues of famous poets, poems and paintings are situated inside the tower. Standing on the grand tower, one can overlook the beautiful landscape of Wuhan City as well as the remarkable Yangtze River.

Yueyang Tower

The Yueyang Tower stands on the west gate of the Yueyang city wall, looking down at the Dongting Lake, facing the Junshan Island in the distance, and linking the Yangtze River to the north and the Xiangjiang River to the south.

It is said that the site was originally an inspection platform for the general Lu Su of the Wu Kingdom (222-250AD) to train his naval troops. In Fan’s essay, Remarks of Yueyang Tower, he not only described the wonderful scenery, but also wrote the famous lines of one should be the first to bear hardship, and the last to enjoy comforts, indicating his concerns for the country and people.

The Yueyang Tower was constructed on the Yueyang Old Town’s West Gate, with a grand force of view and a remarkable structure. The tower features by its unique structure and style. There are three floors, cornice, shelled ceiling, timbered frame. The architectural style of Yueyang Tower is quite unique. The main tower is 21.35 meters high with 4 columns, 3 stories, flying eave, helmet roof and wood construction, the helmet-roof of such a large dimension is a rarity among the ancient architectures in China. Each floor of the tower exhibits couplets written by famous men of letters in Chinese history. In 1988 Yueyang Tower was named by the State Council as a key cultural relic site under state-level protection as well as a national scenic site. In 2000 it was among the first batch of national AAAA tourist resorts.

The Pavillion of Price Teng (Tengwang Pavilion)

The Pavilion of Prince Teng or Tengwang Pavilion , the head of the Three Great Towers in regions south of the Yangtze River , and it is a building in the north west of the city of Nanchang , in Jiangxi province, China, on the east bank of the Gan River. And it is a well-known tower with thousands year, always known as “The First Tower of Xijiang River”.

The Pavilion of Price Teng named after founding by Price Teng Li Yuanying. Li yuanying, the 22^nd son of Emperor Gaozu Liyuan, and the brother of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin and he was ennobled as Price Teng in the 13^th year of Zhenguan period, later he moved to Nanchang took office as governor. In Nanchang, he didn’t get any achievement in his official career, besides he built a tower that is The Pavilion of Price Teng.

The Pavilion of Price Teng is one of the four great ancient towers in China with other three, Yellow Crane Tower, Yuyang Tower and Penglai Pagoda. The Pavilion of Price Teng is the place for feting dinner and banquet of high ranking officials. After establishing for 1300 years, the Pavilion of Price Teng had been through ups and downs for 28 times. And in 1926, during the warlord dogfight period, it was burnt by the Northern Warlord. Since the foundation of China, Jiangxi province government rebuilt the Pavilion of Price Teng.

Now the Pavilion of Price Teng is nine layers in all with basement, 57.5 meters high with an area of 47,000 square meters. Colored glaze and green tile, gilding double eaves, carved byobu, red paint pillar and corridor, all of these are elegant and spectacular.

Penglai Pagoda

Penglai Pagoda established in North Song dynasty 6th year of Jiayou period, as one of an alternative choice, it is one of the four great ancient towers.

Penglai Pagoda stands in the top of Yadan Mountain, with the sea of clouds and mountain surrounded, the scenery there is really wonderfurl. The whole grand scale of ancient building complex consists of Penglai Pagoda, Temple of the Queen of the Heaven, Longwu Palace, Luzu Hall, Sanqingtien Taoist Temple, Amida Temple these six units and their annexs, covers an area of 18.9 thousands square km. Because its magic scene and grand scale, it is one of the four great ancient towers, and now it is the key cultural relic protection site in China.

It is said that Emperor Wu in Han dynasty went to Shangdong Peninsula for many times, and climbed to the Yadan Mountain in the Bohai Sea to search for “Penglai Fairyland”, therefore people called this Yadan Mountain as Penglai.