Ancient National Treasure Tower - Haicheng Golden Tower
The Golden Tower is located on the western hillside of Yangjiaoyu Village, Ximu Town, Haicheng City, Liaoning Province. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces water on one side. Based on its structure and sculptural style, it is inferred to have been built during the Liao Dynasty. It is the most magnificent and grandiose among the 'Three Towers of Ximu City,' with the most exquisite and lifelike brick carvings. Every time the sun sets, the afterglow of the setting sun bathes the tower, making it appear golden and resplendent from a distance, hence the name. In 2013, the Golden Tower was selected as one of the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
The Golden Tower is a solid octagonal brick tower with dense eaves, about 31.5 meters high, with 13 layers of tower finials. Each layer and corner has flying eaves. The tower base is carved with 18 layers of blue bricks, forming two layers of Sumeru pedestals, each side 4.1 meters long. The second layer has two layers of heavy-petal lotus to support the tower body, with carvings of musicians, figures, and crouching lions on each side, and corner warriors at each corner. The sculpting techniques and relief figures exhibit early Khitan ethnic characteristics of the Liao Dynasty.
The brick carvings of the Golden Tower are exquisite and well-arranged. The brick carvings of dancing and musical figures, either playing the qin or blowing the xiao, are vivid and beautifully shaped. The half-body crouching lion brick carvings are lifelike and majestic, well-preserved among existing Liao towers. Each of the eight corners of the tower has a brick-built round column, with an arched niche on each side, housing a seated Buddha statue, which unfortunately no longer exists. Flanking the niche are attendants adorned with necklaces, standing on lotus flowers. Above the niche door is a carved canopy with four hanging drapes, with flying apsaras gracefully depicted on the canopy.
According to the 'Haicheng County Chronicle,' there was originally a tower temple to the north of the Golden Tower, named Jinta Dachen Baolin Temple, also known as Jinta Temple. It was quite large, initially built during the Liao Dynasty and rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty. The temple had two stele inscriptions from the Wanli period, recording its construction process. Unfortunately, the temple was destroyed during the early Cultural Revolution and no longer exists.
Exiting the highway at Ximu Station, you can see the shadow wall of the 'Three Towers of Ximu City' at the entrance of the small road leading to the Golden Tower (see the last picture). Currently, the road conditions on both directions leading to the Golden Tower are poor. Cars can drive directly to the foot of the hillside where the Golden Tower is located. There is a platform at the foot of the hill for parking. You can then walk along the stone steps to the tower, but some of the steps are damaged, possibly due to the lack of visitors, and the path up the hill is overgrown with vegetation.