Liuhe Pagoda

Slender Northern Song pagoda atop Precious Stone Hill defining the north skyline of West Lake.

From Liuhe Pagoda, visitors gain a prime vantage over the Qiantang River Bridge and its surging tidal bore, a spot scholars climbed and praised in verse.

In the novel Water Margin, the outlaw monk Lu Zhishen hears the tide here, grasps his fate and passes away, a tale woven into local lore.

Layered lakes and stacked peaks are pristine and fair. With autumn sweet osmanthus and ten leagues of lotus blooms. Markets display jewels and pearls, households overflow with silk brocades, vying in splendor.

Wrote of Liuhe Pagoda Tide Terrace & Kaihua Temple in “Watching the Ocean Tide (Southeast Majestic Realm)”. Northern Song lyricist of long slow-tune songs such as Bells in the Rain, sung so widely that it was said every place with a well knew his words

Part of Liuhe Pagoda's history: Wuyue Peace & Jiangnan Prosperity. Founder of the Wuyue kingdom, a salt smuggler turned general who seized the two Zhe circuits from Dong Chang and was made King of Wuyue by the Later Liang

Part of Liuhe Pagoda's history: Wuyue Peace & Jiangnan Prosperity. Founder of the Min state in Fujian who followed his brother Wang Chao south, became military governor at Fuzhou, and was named King of Min by the Later Liang in 909

Part of Liuhe Pagoda's history: Wuyue Peace & Jiangnan Prosperity. Last king of Wuyue, grandson of Qian Liu, who ruled for thirty years as a vassal of the northern courts and in 978 handed his thirteen prefectures to the Song without a fight

Wuyue Peace & Jiangnan Prosperity

Qian Liu's protect-the-realm policy limited Wu-Yue's involvement in warlord conflict and gave Hangzhou a comparatively stable setting for economic growth.

In 970, Wuyue king Qian Hongchu founded Liuhe Pagoda on Yuelun Hill beside the Qiantang River.

From 1156 to 1163, the Southern Song rebuilt Liuhe Pagoda on its original site, creating the core of the surviving brick-and-stone tower.