Lijiang Five-Phoenix Tower

In the spring of 1639, the geographer Xu Xiake spent eight quiet days inside a newly built timber tower on Mount Zhishan. He sat beneath towering pillars, writing a preface for the literary works of his host, the Naxi chieftain Mu Zeng. The building was Fayun Pavilion, constructed in 1601 as part of the Mu family’s temple, Jietuo Lin. Today, we know this structure as the Five-Phoenix Tower.

Though wartime fire consumed the surrounding monastery in 1864, local builders reconstructed the tower in 1882. In 1979, preservationists dismantled the entire structure, transporting its interlocking pieces to the edge of Black Dragon Pool.

The tower rises twenty meters, its floor plan shaped like the classic cross-pattern of the Chinese character 'Ya.' Thirty-two ground-touching wooden columns support the weight. At the core, four massive central pillars stretch twelve meters high, anchoring the structure. The engineering relies on the traditional Chinese dougong bracket system, utilizing a 'mi'-character cross-bracing technique. This system supports three tiers of roofs, which feature twenty-four protruding eaves and twenty flying corners. From any direction, these sweeping wooden wings resemble five phoenixes poised for flight.

Inside, the air carries the faint scent of old pine. Visitors can touch the deep relief carvings of peonies, plum blossoms, and pomegranates on the ground-floor partition doors. Looking upward, the ceilings reveal colorful coffered caissons painted with Taiji diagrams, dragons, and protective deities. The design merges Han timber framing, Tibetan bracket layouts, and Naxi and Bai decorative carvings.