? I live in a county (Yushe County, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province). There are not as many high-rise buildings as in urban areas, but there are still all types of houses. It's not like towns and villages that only have bungalows and small two-story buildings, nor like big cities that only have elevators, high-rise buildings, shopping malls and stairwells. The county town does not have any outstanding features, but it has a wide range of types, from bungalows to elevator buildings. Of course, as long as you drive to the surrounding towns, you can see many ancient buildings.
? Of course, there are not many temples, but because I am still not familiar with the temple culture in my hometown, I won’t go into details here. You can come and visit!
? In ancient architecture, towers should be a very common type. Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou, Phoenix Pagoda in Taigu County, as well as pagodas visible in temples, Xi'an Big Wild Goose Pagoda, etc. In the West, you can also see famous towers such as the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I guess the construction of the tower may be due to the idea of ????human beings entering the sky, or it may be to commemorate a certain event or person. His architectural language also includes and highlights a lot of local culture. The tower is characterized by a layer-by-layer architectural style, which is slightly simpler than building a house.
? Of course, what I like the most is the tower in front of my community. The name is "Wenfeng Tower". The specific pictures are as follows:
? In the eyes of Yushe people, it is the representative ancient building of Yushe. Even the name of the community where I live is named after it.
? The pagoda was built in 1722 during the Kangxi period and ended in 1725 (already the Yongzheng period). It has been 300 years now. Mainly because of the Feng Shui saying that "if a tower is placed on the Xun (southeast) peak, literary fortune will be prosperous", it was built to revitalize the literary style of Yushe. In the early days, it was called "Wenfeng Tower", and in later years, it was named "Wenfeng Tower". Therefore, it is called "Wenfeng". At the same time, this tower also records the events where talents emerged in large numbers in Yushe. Wenfeng Tower is a conical brick-wood structure ("hexagonal") with 13 floors, about 38 meters high, covering an area of ??69.2 square meters, with a hollow interior and a bottom floor diameter of about 3 meters. Each floor has eaves and brackets carved out of wood-like bricks. There are arched cave doors on all sides, and there is a brick pagoda plaque above the cave door with very exquisite patterns. There will be bells at the corners of the tower. Whenever the wind blows, the bells on the brick and wood corners will ring. While feeling the magnificence of Wenfeng Pagoda, while looking towards the mountains of the Loess Plateau, while feeling the breeze blowing on your face, while listening to the jingling of the bells, you will feel like you are flying! There is a circle of railings around it, and there are stairs to the east and west leading to different squares.
? It was renovated once in 2005. Although the door of the tower has not yet been opened, the internal image of this 13-story tower must be very good. The first and second floors are mainly brick walls, and the third floor is fixed with wooden boards. There are multiple stairs under the tower, and there is a large square along with the stairs. There are fountains, community bars, fitness equipment, and even stalls that come here regularly. In the evenings of the past, the lights here were brilliant, and the scene was as follows:
Moreover, when viewed from the bottom of the mountain, Wenfeng Tower looks like a tall and straight pen standing between the mountains. Therefore, the mountain where the tower is located is also called "Beacon Mountain". Every Saturday morning, we will invite a few friends to climb this mountain together. It is 5 kilometers in one minute, which is equivalent to a small hike. Here you can not only see pheasants and squirrels, but also the clouds and mist surrounding the mountains on cloudy days and after rainy days! I started climbing this mountain in 2018. Three years have passed so far. This mountain road has also recorded many deeds from childhood innocence to youth, which is worth remembering!
? The Wenfeng Tower building adds a lot of color to the beautiful scenery of Yushe’s mountains and rivers. And there are people in the square under the tower every morning. Men, women, old and young, some dance, some do sports, some relax, some play roller skating...
He is really lucky to have such a place among the Yushe County towns for sale. It can be regarded as a representative of Yushe County, and I am happy for the culture and color it has added to Yushe County. As a Yushe person, I also want to pass on the cultural connotation represented by Wenfeng Pagoda and maintain it at all times.
The people were able to complete Wenfeng Pagoda when they had no money, but what about us? We must work hard too!