The Legend of Queventa's Five Crosses
Kuiwen Pagoda and Wugui Pagoda are located on the rocky mountain on the north bank of Xinjiang River in the suburbs of Shangrao City. Because the two towers are not far from each other, they are called "Shangrao Twin Pagodas". Legend has it that they were all built to combat floods in the Xinjiang River.
Kuiwen Pagoda, commonly known as Longtan Pagoda, was built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620), and its name refers to the dragon. Under the tower is a large deep pool formed by the confluence of the Xinjiang River and Fengxi River. It is said that the two characters "Longtan" in official script were engraved on the wall in the developed area of the River Margin, so it is also called "Jianlong Tower".
Queven Tower has seven octagonal levels, a masonry structure, and is more than 49 meters high. Each floor is equipped with doors and windows. Through the internal stairs, you can spiral up and have a look. It later collapsed, leaving only the second level. In the 19th year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1814), the county governor Wang Gengyan led Wang Zhengxiu and Shangrao magistrate Lai Xun to rebuild the fifth level. The upper floor enshrines the statues of Emperor Zitong and was renamed "Kuiwen Tower". After reconstruction, the simple and solemn architectural style was still maintained. Although this pagoda was built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the body of the pagoda is intact and retains the typical shape of the Ming Dynasty brick pagoda. The upper five floors are supported by overlapping eaves with lotus petals, giving it the flavor of a Qing Dynasty Feng Shui pagoda. There are stone steps inside the tower that spiral up, and you can climb to the top and have a distant view.
There was once a pagoda courtyard under the pagoda. There were several houses built in the pagoda courtyard, including Chunyang Tower, Madam Huiji Temple, Cangjie Temple, Xizi Furnace, Guanshui Pavilion and other ancillary buildings. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, these ancillary buildings had collapsed one after another, and only the Xizi furnace remained.