#Feiyun Building Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Jun)
Historical Architectures
Address:
Wanrong, Yuncheng, Shanxi, China
Recommended sightseeing time:
1-2 hour
The First Great Tower of China This wooden tower can reach the clouds
"There is a Feiyun Tower in Wanrong that half sticks into the sky." This wooden, pavilion-style building is so tall. When the weather is clear, white clouds wrap around the tower, and the strange pavilion seems to float along with the colorful clouds, hence it is known as the "Feiyun Tower". Also, because it is located in the southeast corner of Jiedian Town, the county seat of Wanrong County, it is also known as the "Jiedian Tower"
Feiyun Tower is exquisitely structured and beautifully shaped, reflecting the development of ancient Chinese wooden architecture. This tall building not only has high aesthetic value but also possesses significant academic and historical value.
Although Feiyun Tower was rebuilt during the Qianlong era of the Qing dynasty, with only over 250 years of history, it retains architectural features from the Song, Yuan, and Ming periods, with creative advancements and developments. Therefore, from the perspective of studying the development of ancient Chinese architecture, Feiyun Tower is a treasure among China's existing ancient buildings.
The six characters on the plaque of Feiyun Tower, "Great Ancestral Country's Ancient Building", are strikingly eye-catching. Sons and daughters of China are surely moved when they see the "Great Ancestral Country" on China's number one wooden tower!
Feiyun Tower has an exterior of three stories, plus two hidden layers, making it effectively five stories. It has a total height of 23.15 meters. The entire tower has 32 wing corners, with the mountain flowers facing outward, giving it a unique and beautiful shape.
Feiyun Tower is built on a base 0.65 meters high, with a square bottom. From the ground floor through the second and third floors, there are four large wooden columns that reach straight to the top of the tower through the sky wells, with 32 wooden columns cleverly connected in a checkerboard pattern to jointly support the structure.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, high-rise buildings were constructed layer by layer. Thus, this architectural structure with sky well columns is a development from the Song and Yuan architectural styles.
The tower is made of wood, and all joints, large and small, are mortise and tenon without a single nail. This is quite rare in Chinese pavilion-style architecture.
Feiyun Tower has three stories with four water drips and a cross-shaped hipped roof. Under the eaves of each layer of the embrace structure, there are 345 sets of brackets, with varied shapes, very much resembling clouds surrounding and flowers blooming. The wing corners of each eave are upturned, giving a sense of soaring into the sky.
There are a total of 32 upturned eave corners on the entire tower, and on the tip of each corner stands a warrior in armor, bright and splendid, further highlighting their valiant and majestic appearance. Wind chimes hang at each corner of the tower, swaying in the wind, producing a crisp and pleasant sound.
Don't miss the glazed tiles on the roof of the incense pavilion behind, the details of the chiwen are exquisite.
CHEYENNE TAYLOR
China's premier wooden tower, the underrated ancient gem of Shanxi
When it comes to ancient famous towers, many people first think of Yueyang Tower, Huanghe Tower, Tengwang Pavilion, Guanque Tower, etc., but few know about the 'China's First Wooden Tower' Feiyun Tower (also known as Jiedian Tower) located in Wannian County, Yuncheng, Shanxi.
Also, as someone with a background in architecture, I have long admired the famous Ying County Wooden Pagoda in the 'southern tower and northern pagoda' of Shanxi, but I knew relatively little about the Wannian Feiyun Tower in the south. However, after a careful visit, one can better appreciate its preciousness!
Historically significant: The exact construction date of Feiyun Tower is unknown. Legend has it that during the second year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin led troops to quell a rebellion. To commemorate the victory, music towers and temples were built in various places. After many wars, only Feiyun Tower still stands in Wannian County. The tower that remains today is also the shape after maintenance during the Qing Dynasty.
Pure wooden structure: The entire tower is made of pure wood, with all joints, big or small, being tenon and rivet connections, shining together with the Ying County Wooden Pagoda, and is known as the 'southern tower and northern pagoda'. The wood surface of the tower is not painted, showing the natural color of the wood. Many wooden columns on-site have protruding iron nails, which are said to have been added later for theft prevention.
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Ingeniously constructed: The tower has a width and depth of five bays each, with a total of 345 sets of brackets, which vary in shape, are exquisite in appearance, with each corner wing tilting upwards, and there are 32 tilting corner wings throughout the tower. At the tip of each corner, there stands an armored warrior, looking into the distance, giving the impression of celestial soldiers and generals soaring through the clouds, truly living up to the name 'Feiyun Tower'.
Uniquely structured: The entire tower has a square floor plan, with three visible stories and five hidden ones, with two hidden layers nestled within the flat base. The ground floor is square, with four central columns each 15.45 meters high reaching the top of the tower (the base of the columns has square grooves, which are said to have been left for ease of rotation during construction due to the massive size of the columns), supporting the structure, and 32 wooden columns around it form a chessboard pattern, ensuring the stability of the tower, standing for a thousand years.
There is a local saying, 'Wannian has a Jiedian Tower, half of which is inserted into the sky,' which shows the shock of the ancients when they first saw the tower! At the same time, because of the tower's exquisite craftsmanship, beyond the capabilities of ordinary people, there is also a legend that the tower was built by Lu Ban. Although this is a hearsay, it also shows the superb craftsmanship and ingenious structure! It is truly a feast for the eyes!
LIONEL BAILEY
This year, I gained 100,000 followers thanks to these 9 puzzles
📍Feiyun Tower is located within Dongyue Temple in Wanrong County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. It is a pure wooden structure and is known as 'China's number one wooden building'.
📍Feiyun Tower stands 23.19 meters tall, densely packed with dougong brackets, and all joints are mortise and tenon connections, intricate and exquisite. It is known as 'the Southern Tower and the Northern Pagoda' together with the Wooden Pagoda of Ying County.
The exterior of Feiyun Tower has three stories, but inside it actually has five floors, with a total height of about 23 meters. The ground floor is square, the middle floor changes to a folded cross shape, surrounded by a corridor, and the roof profile is varied; the third floor returns to a square shape, but the roof resembles the middle floor, topped with a cross-ridge roof. The roofs of each floor make up the rich facade composition of Feiyun Tower.
📍Feiyun Tower is not large in volume, but it has four layers of eaves, 12 triangular roof sides, and 32 roof corners. The wood surfaces are not painted, showing the natural color of the wood.
The dougong bracket shapes and structures of Feiyun Tower are extremely varied, with almost every floor having a different form of upturned eaves and bracket sets.
📍The decorative elements include dragon heads, rolled clouds, grasshopper heads, and single floating clouds, with upturned mouths in the shapes of qin-face and ruyi heads. The angle brackets are decorated with elephant noses and dragon heads, adding a rich decorative interest.
📍Feiyun Tower is a representative building within Dongyue Temple in Jiedian Town, Wanrong County. There is a local saying: 'Wanrong has a Jiedian Tower, half-stuck into the sky'.
✨The exact founding date of Feiyun Tower is unknown, but records indicate that the tower already existed during the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan period. The existing structure was rebuilt in the eleventh year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, retaining the architectural style of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
nigellatheshigella
The four famous towers of China all feel inferior!
"The Number One Wooden Tower in China" is so beautiful yet so low-key, a national treasure that must be seen in this lifetime.
When it comes to the "Four Great Ancient Towers of China," every middle and elementary school student knows them by heart. However, if we set aside their spokespersons and literary works and focus solely on the architecture itself, none of today's "Four Great Ancient Towers of China" are truly deserving of their names anymore.
Fan Zhongyan's Yueyang Tower, which embodies the spirit of 'worrying before the world worries, and enjoying only after the world enjoys,' Cui Hao's Yellow Crane Tower with 'the white clouds drifting freely for a thousand years,' Wang Bo's Pavilion of Prince Teng where 'the setting sun and the solitary wild duck fly together, and the autumn water shares the same color with the sky,' and Wang Zhihuan's Stork Tower, where 'one wishes to see a thousand miles further, and climbs up one level higher,' have all disappeared into the river of history. What we see today, except for the Yueyang Tower built in the late Qing Dynasty that can still be considered an ancient building, the other three towers are all modern constructions of steel and concrete.
In front of the authentic ancient Feiyun Tower in Wanrong County, Shanxi Province, these towers, whether compared in historical age or architectural craftsmanship, are all inferior and not on the same level.
The four famous towers of Shanxi version, the Feiyun Tower of Dongyue Temple in Wanrong, the Qiufeng Tower of Houtu Temple in Wanrong, the Xuanjian Tower of the old city of Yuci, and the Xian Shen Tower of Jiexiu, may not be as well-known due to the lack of endorsement by famous people and works, but they are all genuine ancient wooden structures, representing the superb level of ancient Chinese craftsmen's architectural skills. Each one commands respect.
Located in front of the Dongyue Temple in Wanrong County, Shanxi Province, the Feiyun Tower is a pure wooden structure. Like the Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, it is built from bottom to top without a single nail and is known as "The Number One Wooden Tower in China," alongside the Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, which is referred to as "the southern tower and the northern pagoda."
The predecessor of Wanrong County was Wanquan County and Ronghe County. When the two counties merged, the first characters of their names were combined to form the new Wanrong County, with the county seat set in Jiedian Town. The exact year of the construction of Feiyun Tower is unknown. Because it is located in Jiedian Town, it was originally named Jiedian Tower, and the existing building is of Ming and Qing styles.
Legend has it that in the second year of Wude during the Tang Dynasty (619 AD), the 20-year-old Prince Li Shimin led his army to cross the Yellow River and launched the key battle of 'Baibi Battle' to eliminate the separatist forces of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. After the victory, Li Shimin built music towers and temples in the three places where he stationed his troops to showcase his military achievements. Today, only the Feiyun Tower in Wanrong County stands tall in the city of Wanrong.
The Feiyun Tower is 23 meters high, with three visible and five hidden levels, a total of four layers of eaves, 12 triangular roof sides, and 32 roof corners. From all directions, each layer is a beautiful and spectacular Xieshan-style building.
Standing at the base of the tower, one can see the bottom space filled with wooden columns, four spliced columns that reach the top of the tower, ingeniously connected with the surrounding 32 columns in a chessboard pattern. The entire Feiyun Tower is like an inseparable organic whole, solid and stable, with the overall structure largely maintaining its original appearance after construction.
The interior of the tower is densely packed with dougong brackets, exquisite and intricate, with more than 300 sets of dougong brackets encompassing 23 types of forms, yet without a sense of complexity and chaos. Looking at them, they are like clouds surrounding or like flowers blooming, with the eaves and upturned corners resembling birds ready to soar and strike the sky, exquisitely beautiful. No wonder the ancients praised it as 'connecting to the cloud paths above, overlooking the groundless below, with layered eaves and stacked corners, like leather yet as if flying, painted rafters and carved beams, shining in the moon and reflecting the stars'.
Nova_Everglen_88
Journey to Shanxi—Feiyun Tower in Wanrong
🌟Highlights:
1. Feiyun Tower is known as the "Number One Wooden Tower in China". The existing building is in the style of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, with a pure wooden structure densely packed with dougong brackets, exquisite and delicate, and is known alongside the Wooden Pagoda in Ying County as "the Southern Tower and the Northern Pagoda".
2. It is an extremely spectacular existence among ancient Chinese wooden structures, standing 23.19 meters tall. There is a local saying, "Wanrong has a Feiyun Tower, half of which is buried in the clouds".
3. In 1988, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. It is a gem among the wooden structures in southern Shanxi and the whole country, and holds an important position among pavilion-style buildings.
4. Compared to the famous Yellow Crane Tower, Heque Tower, and Tengwang Pavilion, which are now new reinforced concrete imitations, only the Yueyang Tower, rebuilt during the Guangxu period, can still be considered an ancient building. Feiyun Tower is an original ancient pavilion that has retained the style of the Song and Yuan dynasties.
5. The entire tower is densely packed with dougong brackets inside and out, totaling 345 sets, creating a strong visual impact with its interlocking appearance. Looking up from beneath the tower, the numerous winged corner brackets and mountain flowers are intricately placed. The glazed warrior figures at the eaves are all different, but upon close inspection, they are definitely finely crafted.
6. Feiyun Tower is located within the ancient architectural complex of Dongyue Temple, which also includes the Yuan dynasty's Wu Gate, the Yuan-style Xian Hall and Daiyue Hall, as well as the Xiang Pavilion. Here one can understand the sacrificial rituals of the Dongyue Emperor, and Dongyue Temple itself is also a well-preserved grand ancient architectural complex from an ancient era.
7. The ticket price is 10 yuan, very affordable, with convenient transportation. The photography, whether of distant views or close-ups, is very good. While appreciating ancient architecture, one can also record the beauty of Chinese tradition.
8. Wanrong is not only home to Feiyun Tower but also other national treasure-level ancient buildings such as the Houtu Temple (Autumn Wind Tower), the Tomb of Emperor Shun, and the Temple of King Ji.
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rissolesowl
Shanxi Tourism | In Wanrong, there's a Feiyun Tower, half of it piercing into the clouds
| In Wanrong, there's a Feiyun Tower, half of it piercing into the clouds. 📍Feiyun Tower is located inside Dongyue Temple in Wanrong County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province, and is a pure wooden structure, known as 'China's number one wooden tower'.
🔸Feiyun Tower is 23.19 meters tall, with densely packed dougong brackets, all joints are mortise and tenon, exquisitely intricate, and together with the Wooden Pagoda of Ying County, they are known as 'Southern Tower and Northern Pagoda'.
The exterior of Feiyun Tower has three stories, but the interior actually has five levels, with a total height of about 23 meters. The floor plan is square, the middle level changes to a folded cross shape, surrounded by a corridor, the roof profile is varied; the third level's floor plan returns to a square, but the roof shape is similar to the middle level, topped with a cross-ridge roof. The various roof levels create the rich facade composition of Feiyun Tower. Although the tower is not large in volume, it has four layers of eaves, 12 triangular roof sides, 32 roof corners, and the wood surface is not painted, showing the natural color of the wood.
The dougong brackets and structure of Feiyun Tower are extremely varied, with almost every level having a different form of upturned eaves and bracket sets.
The decorative elements include dragon heads, rolling clouds, grasshopper heads, single floating clouds, etc., with upturned mouths in the shape of a qin (Chinese musical instrument) or ruyi (scepter), and the corner brackets are decorated with elephant trunks and dragon heads, rich in decorative interest.
Feiyun Tower is the representative building within Dongyue Temple in Jiedian Town, Wanrong, and there is a local saying, 'Wanrong has a Jiedian Tower, half of it piercing into the sky'.
✨The exact founding year of Feiyun Tower is unknown, but records indicate that the tower already existed during the Tang Dynasty's Zhenguan era. The existing tower was rebuilt in the eleventh year of the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, retaining the architectural style of the Yuan and Ming dynasties.
NeonOracle
Exquisite and delicate, embracing the moon with flying clouds｜Wanrong Dongyue Temple in southern Shanxi
【Shanxi Goodness and Beauty·Wanrong·Embracing the Moon with Flying Clouds Exquisite and Delicate】Continuing southward into the territory of Wanrong County in Yuncheng area. Here is a majestic ancient tower built during the Qianlong period and well preserved - Feiyun Tower. It is also known as the 'Southern Tower and Northern Pagoda' with the wooden pagoda in Ying County in northern Shanxi, and is one of the four famous towers in Shanxi. It is said that this Feiyun Tower was built without using any function, just to show off skills, to see how cool I am, I don't know if it's true or not. Arrived at noon, a bit against the light, Feiyun Tower is still magnificent!
Tips: The whole building is densely arranged with brackets, a total of 345 groups. And the shape is extremely varied, like clusters of clouds and blooming flowers. Each eave corner is lifted up, ready to fly. On a windy day, the wind bells at the corners of the building ring evenly, which is very pleasant. The roof is decorated with yellow, green, and blue glazed tiles, which are even more magnificent under the sun. Now its state, its ingenious structure, exquisite modeling, and magnificent appearance can be called a masterpiece of our country's tower architecture.
Ticket🎫: 10 yuan