Anhui Haozhou Wanfo Pagoda | Mengcheng Zhuan Pagoda

| Mengcheng Zhuan Pagoda. The world is so big, let's go and see it - In the 1990s, the crosstalk actor Niu Qun, who was popular all over the country, faded out of the public's sight after serving as the deputy county head in Mengcheng County, Bozhou City, Anhui Province. As for the subsequent failure, let's not mention it. As a senior crosstalk enthusiast, Rui Vision has always wanted to visit Mengcheng, where Niu Qun has struggled, but has not been able to implement it. The Ning (Nanjing) Luo (Luoyang) Expressway crosses the middle of Mengcheng County from east to west. Rui Vision has passed through Mengcheng County twice on the Ning Luo Expressway, but has not been able to stay. Until a friend's son who works in Hangzhou got married, I went there with my friend a few days in advance and stayed in Mengcheng for one night. Early the next morning, the two of us came to the Wanfo Pagoda Park on Baota Road in the north-central part of the county, and checked in this brick pagoda from the Song Dynasty that was selected as the sixth batch of national cultural relics protection units. This 'National Treasure' also known as the Flower Insertion Pagoda, Xinghua Temple Pagoda, and Cishi Temple Pagoda, which is called 'Mengcheng Brick Pagoda' by the locals, was built in the first year of Chongning in the Song Dynasty (1102), and was named 'Wanfo Pagoda' because of the nearly 10,000 small Buddha statues inlaid inside and outside the pagoda. Wanfo Pagoda, an octagonal thirteen-story pavilion-style brick pagoda, is 42.2 meters high, with a base circumference of 24 meters and a diameter of 8 meters. It is named for the more than 8,000 Buddha statues inlaid inside and outside the pagoda. There is a temple on the east side of the pagoda, named Xinghua Temple, so the earliest name of the pagoda was Xinghua Pagoda. The pagoda is made of iron, with a duplicate bowl, five wheels, a treasure cover, and a treasure bottle. The 13-story Wanfo Pagoda is 38.6 meters high (42.2 meters according to one account), with a base circumference of 24.3 meters. Each floor has 8 doors, 4 real and 4 fake. The positions of the doors and windows below the 7th floor are the same, and they are changed layer by layer above the 8th floor. They are staggered up and down. Each floor is decorated with various patterns under the flying eaves, and the top of the pagoda is equipped with an iron bell, and each corner of the flying eaves hangs a bell. The pagoda is built with water-milled green bricks, and the inner and outer bodies are inlaid with more than 1,300 red, yellow, and green glazed bricks. Each brick is carved with 3 Buddha statues, with Sakyamuni in the middle, Jia Ye on the left, and Anan on the right. There are also a few bricks that only have one Buddha statue, totaling more than 6,000. The Buddha statues on the pagoda, another saying is that there are more than 8,000 in total. These Buddha statues are relics of the Song Dynasty, and some are added in later generations. The fourth floor of the pagoda is commonly known as the 'small temple', enshrining the three statues of Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and Zhou Cang, which were destroyed in the 1950s There are two inscriptions on the construction of the pagoda in the Wanfo Pagoda: one is on the fourth floor, carved in the first year of Chongning in the Song Dynasty (1102); the other is on the eleventh floor, carved in the fifth year of Chongning (1106). Judging from the time difference between the two inscriptions, it took four years from the fifth to the eleventh floor. The whole pagoda has thirteen floors, plus the construction of the foundation and the pagoda, it took about ten years to build the whole pagoda. The Wanfo Pagoda is majestic and beautiful in shape, and is a direct reflection of the superb architectural craftsmanship and social aesthetic concept of the Northern Song Dynasty. Since 1977, the cultural relics department has carried out comprehensive maintenance on the Wanfo Pagoda, reinforced the pagoda base, filled in cracks, repaired severely damaged Buddha statue bricks, added a lightning rod to the top of the pagoda, and restored the original appearance of the pagoda. In 1981, the Wanfo Pagoda was included in the 'Dictionary of Famous Scenic Spots in China'. In 2006, the Wanfo Pagoda was announced by the State Council as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Wanfo Pagoda