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By the end of 1999, Hangzhou Municipal Government and Zhejiang Provincial Government officially made a decision to reconstruct and extend the original Leifeng Pagoda according to the principle of preserving the cultural relics. The reconstruction project kicked off on Dec. 22. 2000 and was completed on Oct. 25, 2002. Since its collapse, there were more than 70 years that the Leifeng Pagoda was in ruins, a lot of domestic learners continually appealed for reconstruction. Huang Yanpei(1878-1965), the late Vice-Chairman of National People's Congress, appealed for many times nationwide. He directly questioned the whole nation who was the reconstructor of Hangzhou and who could restore the beauty of Leifeng Pagoda. Liang Sicheng(1901-1972), one son of Liang Qichao and the world-famous architect painted the restoring picture of Leifeng Pagoda in 1931. In 1932, the plan of reconstructing Leifeng Pagoda was confirmed when Baochu Pagoda was under reconstruction in 1932, but due to the problem of financing, it did not be realized. After the establishment of The People's Republic of China, a lot of people proposed the plan of reconstructing Leifeng Pagoda. A lot of famous academic scholars paid a lot of attention to the reconstruction of Leifeng Pagoda like Chen Congzhou, the famous gardening architecture master, as well as Wu Yin, the famous architect.
The reconstruction of Leifeng Pagoda in the history of Chinese scenic spot protection and construction creates four No.1: Steel-made structure as the architectural brace of towers and large pagodas for bearing creates the first No.1; the largest amount of copper-made parts as well as the largest area of coppery decoration in pagoda construction create the second No.1. The interior room is the largest among pagodas, which also creates the third No. 1; the cultural displays in pagodas are the richest among the pagodas in the world, which creates the fourth No.1.
The newly-built Leifeng Pagoda was established on the former site and it preserved the traditional pavilion style of building, which is thoroughly rebuilt in line with the style, size and design of the original when it was rebuilt in early period of Southern Song Dynasty. The whole design and structure is absolutely featured with the traditional building style of Jiangnan Region of China in ancient times. The new pagoda is 71.679 meters high and comprised of the base, the body and the top. The body is 49.17 meters and the top is 18.25 meters high. Basically, the whole pagoda was modernized actually; it is facilitated with elevator for visiting as well. It is indeed a good destination to appreciate the beauty and charm of the whole West Lake as well as some part of Hangzhou Metropolitan Zone.
By the way, as the destination of cultural and historical site, a large number of poems and poems concerned are available in Leifeng Paogda. In Seeraa, we serve some of them in Chinese and hope it can be helpful for your understanding of this widely famous Buddhist pagoda.