Photo Gallery

Beisi Temple (6th century site, 19th-20th century buildings)

Beisi, the Temple of the North, stands on the site of the 4th century Tongxuan temple, which was commissioned by Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu, for his wet nurse. The kingdom of Wu was one of the warring states of fabled antiquity. In the Tang dynasty the temple was renamed "Epoch-making Temple" and was later renamed "Reciprocation Temple" in the Five Dynasty period. Only later did it acquire its present name.

The temple's most prominent feature, its pagoda, was commissioned in the 13th century by Dayuan, a monk in the Southern Song dynasty. It replaced the ruins of an older eleven-story pagoda built in the Liang Dynasty by the monk Zhanghui. Though the present pagoda is "only" nine stories tall, it towers an impressive 76 meters above the surrounding landscape, facing another pagoda on nearby Tiger Hill. Visitors can climb to the top of the pagoda for an impressive view of downtown Suzhou.