Migratory Musings: Asian Adventure: Shibaozhai Temple

Shibaozhai Temple

This multi-story pagoda is called Shibaozhai, which means "precious stone fortress". It's built right into the side of a stone hill and there's a temple at the top. It looks so close to the boat but to reach it we had to take a round-about route.

While the Three Gorges Dam, which we'd visit later, generates a tremendous amount of power for China, it was not without controversy when construction began in 1994. One result of the dam is that for many miles upstream land that once was well above the waterline is now beneath it, including Shibaozhai. Fortunately the government recognized its historic value and created an artificial island to protect it by building retaining walls all around it. If you're interested in how the area looked before it was flooded, there's a photo on Wikipedia.

But now having created this island, a bridge had to be built to reach it. We disembarked from the boat and took the wandering path in a circuitous route through the souvenir stands across the bridge.

As we made our way to the pagoda we were once again struck by how many people in China were employed to keep the streets and sidewalks clean. And they didn't use what we would consider modern brooms but these that looked like older designs. I guess with a population as large as China's that keeping people productive is a goal and the streets were definitely kept clean.

Old-style broom still works!

After turning a corner we knew we were headed the right way as we walked through decorative archways and a plaza that had a few shops with more undergoing renovation.

We finally arrived on the island.

I thought the carvings on this wall were amazingly detailed. I'm not sure if the wall was just decorative or if it was functional as well but I found it interesting.

Finally the walkway took us right in front of the pagoda's entrance.

At last we could see the entire pagoda from the front

Close up of the front steps

Chinese writing on a chalkboard outside the entrance

After entering Shibaozhai we began climbing from one floor to the next. Some floors had displays set up in them while others were empty except for the view. The stairs were quite steep - almost like ladders in some places - but as you can tell from the pagoda's design, each floor was smaller than the one below it.

One level had a display about the legendary military general from the 4th century BC, Ba Manzi. He's quite well-known in folk culture around Chongqing.

Ba Manzi

On level 6 a Buddha's head was etched into the rock. They've determined that it dates to the Ming dynasty (mid-14th through mid-17th centuries) which means it existed before this pagoda. I'm not sure how anyone reached this high up on the rock face without support but they were certainly determined!

Buddha's face in the rock

At the top of the pagoda was a plaza. While it was an overcast day, the lush green of the hillside were lovely.

On the plaza was a raised circular structure that I assumed was a well though there was a sign indicating it was something different. Long ago the hole in the rock was thought to lead down to the Yangtze but the people were not sure that it did. Legend has it that they marked the leg of a small duck and sent the duck down the hole and later on the duck emerged in the river. Since that time this has been known as the Duck Cave.

Donations for the temple around the Duck Cave entrance

While Shibaozhai is the most noticeable building, the Emperor Palace on top of the rock is actually older. It was built in the late 16th to early 17th centuries during the Ming Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, which is the most recent one, it was renovated a number of times.

There are actually three buildings that comprise the Emperor Palace: the front palace, the central palace and the rear palace. As you step into each of these buildings, there's quite a high board to step over. This is so that the evil spirits, which apparently travel along the ground, cannot get into the palaces.

While there were quite a number of statues here, the primary god enshrined in Guyanyu. He was a real-life general in the early 3rd century AD and he played a large part in the collapse of the Han Dynasty. But as time passed his exploits became greater and fictionalized stories from a 14th-century historical novel were later taken as fact. Now he is revered in several religions.

Guyanyu (center)

Here are some of the other gods from the temple.

Another important figure here is the Jade Emperor.

Jade Emperor

In between temples was a courtyard. Someone had fun with carving!

The Aihe Bridge was in the courtyard too. Legend has it that if a couple can stand side by side and walk over the bridge in no more than ten steps their wishes will come true.

Aihe Bridge

The next palace was smaller and it was here we found the Queen of Heaven, wife of the Jade Emperor.

Queen of Heaven

The couple had seven daughters.

Stepping out of the palace on to a small plaza we had a nice view of the bridge back to the mainland.

View of the bridge from above

Making our way back to the mainland

After make our way back through the souvenir tents we once again boarded our boat and spent the afternoon winding our way down the Yangtze. After such a busy first week of our trip, it was so nice to be able to relax for the entire afternoon.

Migratory Musings

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Asian Adventure: Shibaozhai Temple

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