17 Dec 2017 - Shanghai Day 3: Beita Bao'en Temple (北塔报恩寺)

Right across the road from Suzhou Silk Museum, we could see a tall pagoda which we decided to walk over to explore.

We followed the pavement by the roadside till we came to a cross junction where the entrance to the temple can be seen.

As one of the more popular historical attractions in Suzhou, Bao’en Temple (报恩寺) is also commonly referred to as the Beisi Pagoda (北寺塔).

Bao’en is a Buddhist temple built during the period of China’s Three Kingdoms, and it also houses the pagoda, which is key to the distinct look of the temple complex. This temple is the oldest in Suzhou, and is said to have been constructed by the order of Sun Quan, who was then the reigning emperor of the Kingdom of Wu.

The base of the pagoda has an octagonal frame, and the tower rises nine stories in a total height of 76 m (249 ft).  Each storey has encircling eaves, balconies and banisters, all made of wood. The pagoda was once eleven stories tall, but was damaged and reduced to nine storeys.

Due to the cold weather, the dog in Suzhou was also in its warm clothing.

We had our lunch at the below restaurant.  It was quite packed probably due to weekend lunch crowd.

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