White Pagoda Park Travel Guide

White Pagoda is situated on the north bank of the Yellow River in Lanzhou. The pagoda was originally built in the Yuan Dynasty, but the existing structure was rebuilt between 1450 and 1456 in the Ming Dynasty. It is a combination of inverted-bowl and multistoreyed styles. Generally, if a pagoda combines the two styles, the lower part is multistoreyed while the upper one takes the shape of an inverted bowl, but this pagoda reversed the rule. Its lower part is an inverted bowl and its upper part multistoreyed, making it a rare example among ancient pagodas. The pagoda's square base supports a huge Sumeru pedestal. On top of the pedestal is the hemispherical inverted-bowl-shaped part, then the multistoreyed part. The pagoda, some seventeen metres high, has a unique shape and exquisite contour and is an excellent example of ancient pagodas.

Top three treasures of the White Pagoda Mountain are Chinese redbud tree, elephant skin drum and bronze bell. The redbud tree has died; the elephant skin drum is well kept and is said to be contributed by an Indian monk; and the bronze bell was built between 1662 and 1722, weighing 153 kilograms.