Wooden Pagoda – Phoenix

　　The world is so wonderful that sometimes it's very hard to describe what one sees. Thanks to a special journey I had a chance to witness the grandness of "prosperity brought by the dragon and phoenix, and shine of both the sun and the moon".

　　On March 28, 2011, I had a trip to Shanxi Province with a group of artists and scholars. Our trip covered Datong City in the north and Pingyao County in the south, and we also visited Wuguang ancient city, Yanmenguan Pass of Great Wall and Wenshu Temple as well as Xiantong Temple on Mountain Wutai.

　　Before I went to Shanxi, a friend of mine, who's also an architect, told me I definitely should pay a visit to the wooden pagoda in Ying County. It was over four o'clock when we arrived at Ying County. The setting sun gilded the pagoda. The nine-storey fully-wooden pagoda featured calligraphy by various renowned scholars in Chinese history. Under the glamorous sunglow, the pagoda built over nine centuries ago seemed to be extremely mystical and charming. While I was reveling in the beautiful scene, suddenly someone said to me "Look, there's a phoenix in the sky!" I looked up. A phoenix weaved by clouds was floating through the sky. I was amazed. When the sun met the moon, and a dragon and a phoenix appeared at the same time, it was a scene brimming with harmony and auspiciousness, adding a sense of warm blessing to our journey.

　　The wooden pagoda, or the Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple of Ying County in its full name, is located in Suzhou City, northwest of Shanxi Province. This fully-wooden pagoda was built in 1056 AD during Liao Dynasty of China and renovated in 1195 AD during Jin Dynasty. It is the oldest existent fully wooden pagoda still standing in China, an epitome of the brilliant achievements of ancient Chinese architecture.