Xiantong Tower is located in Zhongshan West Road in Ningbo City. It was built in the fourth year of Xiantong (863 years), Tang Dynasty, and has a history of more than 1,100 years. It is the only square brick tower of Tang Dynasty existing nowadays in the south of the Yangtze River in China.

　　Xiantong Tower is also known as the Tianning Temple Tower. Tianning Temple, originally known as Guoning Temple, was built in the fifth year of Dazhong (851 years), Tang Dynasty, and was of a large scale. The name of the temple was changed for several times, which in the end, changed to be Tianning Temple in the early years of the Republic of China. There are two towers in front of the Tianning Temple, but pitifully that the left tower has been destroyed during the Qing dynasty Guangxu years, and the right tower is the Xiantong Tower. The reason for this name was because the inscription on the right side of the tower brick, which writes, “This brick is created in Xiantong fourth year”. Because of its short stature and its shape resembling a turtle, it is also commonly known as the "turtle tower."

　　At the beginning of the liberation, Tianning Temple was demolished, many temple sites disappeared, leaving only the ancient tower. Xiantong Tower is a brick structure with a square foundation. The bottom of the tower is 3.2 meters long and covers an area of more than 10 square meters. There is no tower brake at the top of the tower, and the height of the tower is about 12 meters. With a dome, the tower is empty and square. The body of the tower is basically upright, with no obvious inclination, but the weathering of the tower is severe. The tower has a total of five floors. The bottom floor is slightly higher and has a door. The towers above are shrinking gradually. Each floor has four walls that are dedicated to offering Buddha statues. They are surrounded by bricks and stacks and have a density of about 0.7 meters. The tower body is simple and solemn, with no pillars, gongs, and bracket sets. Each layer is covered with layers of eaves, which is the distinctive features of the dense brick towers in Tang dynasty. It is the only existing one in the south of the Yangtze River in China maintaining the most complete Tang Dynasty Square brick tower.

　　Xiantong Tower is of great value for studying the environmental coordinates of Mingzhou (that is, Ningbo City nowadays), the ancient city of the south of the Yangtze River, the brick building technology of the Tang Dynasty, brick making technology, and the history of religions and the scale of the Tang Dynasty temples. It also typically reflects the subtle features and styles of towers in Tang Dynasty in the southern area. This is actually a symbol of the rational spirit and aesthetic pursuit of Mingzhou people in the Tang Dynasty. (Promotion)

來源： 中國網    | 作者：俞霄    | 責編：李佩    審核：張淵

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