Leifeng Pagoda (Leifeng Tower) 雷峰塔

Welcome, everyone, to Leifeng Pagoda Scenic Area. Our tour begins right here.

The scenic area is located at 15 Nanshan Road in Hangzhou's Xihu District, at the foot of Xizhao Hill on the southern shore of West Lake. Take a look at the entrance plaza — it's open and spacious, with a large decorative screen wall at the center and landscaped greenery all around. This is where you'll buy your tickets, and it's also your first introduction to what Leifeng Pagoda is all about.

Before we head in, let me give you a quick overview. Leifeng Pagoda was first built during the Northern Song dynasty, over a thousand years ago. The original tower collapsed in 1924, and what you see today is the rebuilt pagoda completed in 2002. The new tower stands just over 71 meters tall with five floors, and it is China's first full-color copper-clad pagoda. Climb to the top and you'll have the entire West Lake spread out beneath you.

Admission is 40 yuan per person. Students and visitors aged 60 to 69 receive a half-price discount, and those aged 70 and above enter free. The pagoda is open from 8 am to 8:30 pm, with extended hours in summer. I'd recommend coming in the late afternoon — you'll have a chance to catch "Leifeng Pagoda at Sunset," though that's also when it's most crowded.

Please keep your belongings close and stay with the group. We'll make our first stop at the base ruins of Leifeng Pagoda.

Everyone, we've arrived at the base ruins of Leifeng Pagoda — the most unique and significant part of the entire building.

Look down through the glass floor beneath your feet. You can see the surviving foundations of the ancient pagoda: the real stones and brickwork left behind after the collapse of 1924. These remnants are over a thousand years old. When the new pagoda was built, the decision was made to leave the old foundations completely undisturbed. A massive steel frame lifts the new structure above the ruins, presenting the ancient remains intact for visitors to see.

Take a walk around the perimeter and observe the outline of the original foundations from different angles. The information panels nearby explain the pagoda's construction, destruction, and the archaeological excavation in detail. One highlight worth mentioning: in 2001, archaeologists excavated the pagoda's underground chamber and uncovered a remarkable collection of artifacts, including a gilded silver Ashoka stupa and a jade Guanyin figure. Most of these treasures are now held at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum and the China Academy of Art.

The light here is soft and diffused — take your time and let the weight of a thousand years settle in. Photography tip: the glass floor can create reflections. Try shooting at a slight angle to see the ruins beneath more clearly.

Next, we'll take the elevator or stairs up to the first floor of the new pagoda.

We've arrived at the first floor of the new Leifeng Pagoda — the main hall of the tower and the best place to begin understanding its Buddhist heritage and legendary history.

Take a look at the Ashoka stupa enshrined at the center of the hall. This is a replica of a gilded silver stupa unearthed from the pagoda's underground chamber. The original is encased in gold and silver, with scenes from the Buddha's previous lives carved across all four faces — a masterwork of craftsmanship. The Ashoka stupa is a traditional Buddhist reliquary. According to tradition, the Indian emperor Ashoka once distributed the Buddha's relics among 84,000 stupas across the world, and vessels of this type bear his name.

The four walls of the hall are lined with large Dongyang wood carvings drawn from the Legend of the White Snake — the story of Lady White and Xu Xian. In the legend, Lady White is imprisoned beneath Leifeng Pagoda by the monk Fahai. The pagoda finally collapses only after Xu Xian's son passes the imperial examinations, and Lady White is set free. Though the legend is not historical fact, it has made Leifeng Pagoda one of the most romantically charged symbols in Chinese folk literature.

Alongside the White Snake story, the carvings also depict scenes of Qian Chu, the last king of the Wuyue Kingdom, ordering the pagoda's construction. Qian Chu was a devoted Buddhist who built many pagodas and temples across the Hangzhou region during the Five Dynasties period; Leifeng Pagoda was the most important of them all.

Photography tip: The hall is fairly dim. Switch off your flash and use a higher ISO setting for better results. The Ashoka stupa and the wood carvings both make excellent subjects.

We're now on floors 2 through 4 of the new Leifeng Pagoda — a great stretch of the climb for taking in the views. Each floor has a cantilevered gallery with railings where you can walk the full perimeter and look out over West Lake.

The pagoda is built in the architectural style of the Southern Song dynasty: sweeping upturned eaves, copper-tiled roofs, and copper bells hanging from each corner. When a breeze picks up, the bells ring out with a clear, bright tone that feels wonderfully ancient. Look closely at the copper carvings on the exterior — lotus flowers, clouds, and mythical creatures, all Buddhist and auspicious motifs, every one of them carved by hand.

As you rise from the second floor to the fourth, the view opens up steadily. On the second floor, you're close enough to make out the plane trees lining Nanshan Road and the gardens below. By the third and fourth floors, the full surface of West Lake comes into view — the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Xiaoying Island, and the sweeping lines of the Su Causeway and the Bai Causeway in the distance.

Each floor's interior walls carry murals and relief carvings tied to Buddhist culture and the history of the Wuyue Kingdom. While you're here for the views, take a moment to notice the decorative details — they tell the story of this pagoda across a thousand years.

Photography tip: These floors are ideal for mid-range shots of West Lake. A telephoto lens can compress the pagoda's curved eaves and the lake beyond into a single striking frame. For portraits, have your companion stand on the gallery with the lake as the backdrop — the results are lovely.

We've reached the top observation deck — the fifth and highest floor of Leifeng Pagoda. This is the best vantage point in the entire scenic area for taking in the full panorama of West Lake.

Step up to the railing and look out in every direction. To the north, West Lake glitters before you, dotted with islands including the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and Xiaoying Island; beyond them, the Bai Causeway, the Su Causeway, and the Broken Bridge stretch across the water. To the northeast, Baochu Pagoda stands slender and elegant in the distance, answering Leifeng across the lake — the two towers inspired a classic saying: "Baochu is like a beauty; Leifeng is like an old monk." To the west, Nanping Hill and Jingci Temple fill the horizon, home to the famous "Evening Bell of Nanping." To the south, the Hangzhou cityscape unfolds — modern high-rises set against an ancient tower silhouette.

On a clear day with good visibility, you can see the mountains that ring the lake even farther out. West Lake is flanked by hills on three sides and open to the city on the fourth — this arrangement of "three sides of hills, one face of the city" is one of the key reasons it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The observation deck is not large, and it can get crowded. Please stay safe: don't set your belongings on the railing, as the wind up here is strong and phones, hats, and other items can easily be swept away.

Photography tip: This is the ideal level for sweeping panoramic shots of West Lake. Use a wide-angle lens or your phone's panorama mode to capture all four directions. At sunset, the light turns the pagoda and the lake surface to gold — the most beautiful time to shoot.

We've arrived at the Leifeng Pagoda Cultural Exhibition Hall, which traces the pagoda's full history — from its founding and the relics found in its underground chamber to the collapse and rebuilding that define its modern story.

The most remarkable exhibits here are the replicas and photographs of the artifacts unearthed from the underground chamber in 2001. That excavation produced an extraordinary collection: a gilded silver Ashoka stupa, a gilded bronze figure of Shakyamuni teaching the dharma, a jade Guanyin, a jade attendant figure, and many more treasures. The gilded silver Ashoka stupa is the most prized of them all — it held within it the Buddha's hair relic, the very reason Qian Chu built the pagoda in the first place.

The hall also holds a wealth of photographs and documents recording the pagoda's journey from its Northern Song origins through the fire that ravaged it during the Ming dynasty, its collapse in the Republican era, and its modern reconstruction. You can trace the tower through every period: the glittering splendor of its Southern Song heyday, the bare brick shell that survived into the Qing dynasty, the tilting and crumbling structure of the late Qing and early Republican years, and the news photographs that captured the moment it fell in 1924.

Looking at these exhibits together, you begin to understand that Leifeng Pagoda is far more than a Buddhist tower. It is a vessel of Hangzhou's urban memory and a touchstone of Chinese culture — carrying within it the Legend of the White Snake, the essays of the writer Lu Xun, and the poetry of a dozen dynasties.

Photography tip: The exhibits and display panels make good subjects for documentation shots. Please switch off your flash to avoid damaging the reproductions and panels.

And now we've reached the final stop of today's tour of Leifeng Pagoda — Xizhao Pavilion and the Fangsheng Pond.

Xizhao Pavilion sits just to the east of the pagoda and is one of the finest vantage points for "Leifeng Pagoda at Sunset," one of the Ten Scenic Views of West Lake. The pavilion is simple and graceful, framed by trees on all sides. In front of it, a clear pond shimmers with fish, and the pagoda's reflection drifts across the surface.

The name "Leifeng Pagoda at Sunset" comes from a scene that unfolds every evening. As the sun descends in the west, its golden light falls directly on the pagoda's flanks. The copper tiles and the tower itself blaze in the slanting rays, while the pagoda's reflection stretches across the lake, merging with the afterglow and the water — a scene of rare beauty.

Over the centuries, many poets and scholars have written about this view. The Song dynasty poet Lin Bu wrote of "the evening glow visible from the village ahead." When the Kangxi Emperor made his tours of the south during the Qing dynasty, he renamed the scene from "Leifeng in the Western Light" to "Leifeng Pagoda at Sunset" and had a stone stele inscribed. This pagoda and this view have held a place in the Chinese literary imagination for more than a thousand years.

The Fangsheng Pond is a common feature of Buddhist sites. "Fangsheng" means releasing living creatures — an act of compassion and the accumulation of merit. Visitors often gather by the pond, but please refrain from feeding the fish, as doing so can harm the water quality and the health of the fish.

Photography tip: Xizhao Pavilion and the Fangsheng Pond are the best spots for photographs of the pagoda's reflection and the sunset light. Arrive about half an hour before sundown to secure a good spot by the water's edge. A telephoto lens will compress the tower and its reflection into a tight, atmospheric composition. If you have time, stay until after dark — the pagoda lit up against the night sky is equally beautiful.

That brings us to the end of today's tour of Leifeng Pagoda. From the ancient ruins at ground level to the observation deck at the top, from Buddhist relics to the legend of the White Snake, we've traveled together through a thousand years of history and culture. I hope you'll catch that perfect moment of "Leifeng Pagoda at Sunset" here at Xizhao Pavilion. Thank you all, and enjoy the rest of your journey!