Four-Gate Pagoda

Four-Gate Pagoda is located 4 kilometers northeast of Liubu Street, Licheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. The pagoda is entirely built of large blue stones, single-layered, and square-shaped, with an arch gate on each of its four sides, hence the common name "Four-Gate Pagoda." It was completed in the seventh year of the Sui Dynasty's Daye period (611 AD) and has a history of over 1,400 years. Four-Gate Pagoda is the only existing stone pagoda from the Sui Dynasty in China and is the earliest and best-preserved single-layer pavilion-style Buddhist pagoda in China. It is renowned as "China's First Stone Pagoda" and "Hua Xia's First Stone Pagoda." Its design is simple, reflecting the style of Han Dynasty architecture in China. It holds significant value for the study of Chinese Buddhist history and ancient architectural features and is one of the precious heritages of ancient Chinese architecture. Except for some slight decorations on the pagoda's finial, the rest of the structure has no obvious decorations, giving it a solid and simple appearance, ancient yet straightforward. It holds an important place in the history of Chinese architecture. On March 4, 1961, Four-Gate Pagoda was announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as one of the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units.