The Pazhou Pagoda, also known as the Whampoa Pagoda or Pa Chow Pogoda, is an early modern
Chinese pagoda
A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhism, Buddhist, bu ...
on
Pazhou Island in
Haizhu District,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
, the capital of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
Province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
.
History
Construction of the Whampoa Pagoda was initiated in 1597 and was completely built by 1600.
The pagoda is situated on a knoll at the south bank of
Pearl River. Although it was built as a Buddhist landmark, it was also a useful navigation point for merchant ships traveling to
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
.
Architecture
It is an octagonal tower with 9 main sections and 17 sub sections.
The tower stands at about , and has a diameter at the base of .
It covers a total area of 111 square metres.
Functioning in a similar fashion to
Chigang Pagoda, it was built for
Fengshui and allow safe navigation of merchant ships traveling along the
Pearl River towards
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
.
Gallery
File:Aerial View, Whampoa Pagoda, Guangzhou 20230701.jpg, The Pazhou Pagoda in 2023
File:Pa Chao Pagoda1880.jpg, The Pagoda in 1880
File:Whampoa from Dane's Island.jpg, Drawing of the Pagoda and Changzhou Island, 1858
References
External links
{{commons-inline, Whampoa Pagoda, Whampoa Pagoda
Buildings and structures completed in 1600
Buddhist temples in Guangzhou
Pagodas in China
Ming dynasty architecture