The ancient pagoda has stood quietly in the temple for a millennium

The Dongshan Bao'en Temple, also known as the Dongshan Bao'en Dongyan Teaching Temple, is located on the Dongyan Mountain in Putian. The temple was established in the first year of Chunhua during the Song Dynasty (990), and currently includes the mountain gate, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Mahavira Hall, the Guanyin Hall, the monks' quarters, and the climbing corridor, among others, with the Bao'en Temple Pagoda made of stone being the most famous. The stone pagoda stands on the central axis of the temple, built during the Shaosheng period of the Song Dynasty (1094—1097), which is 68 years earlier than the construction of the Shakyamuni Buddha Pagoda in 1165. The Bao'en Temple Pagoda is an imitation of a pavilion-style structure, octagonal and three-storied with a hollow stone construction, about 20 meters high. The base of the pagoda, the Sumeru throne, is 1.2 meters high, with iron halberds extending outward at the bottom, and the upper part is belted at 40 centimeters, with a total of five relief lions on each side of the belt, except for the south side which has only two lions beside the stone steps, making a total of 37 lions. The carvings are exquisite and varied in form. The four main sides of the three levels, east, west, south, and north, all have doors with arched door frames, while the other four sides are pagoda walls, with a relief of a Vajra warrior on each side of the doors, totaling eight, each with a distinct appearance. The Vajra warrior statues on the pagoda doors and the lion reliefs on the base are quite characteristic of the Sui and Tang dynasties style.