Leifeng Pagoda rises above the trees on West Lake’s southern shore. In evening light, its layered roofs settle into the outline of the hills. The scene has long been known as Leifeng Pagoda in the Sunset.
The first tower was built in the tenth century under Qian Chu, ruler of Wuyue, as a Buddhist pagoda associated with sacred texts and relics. Time stripped away its outer timber structures, leaving the weathered brick core seen in old photographs. In 1924, that tower collapsed.
A tower with more than one life
Today’s pagoda stands above the remains of the earlier one. Beneath the complete rooflines, the old foundations keep another age close to view. The rebuilding restored a familiar shape to the lake’s skyline.
The White Snake legend gave the tower an intimate life of its own. Here, Fahai confines Bai Suzhen beneath the pagoda, and here later stories imagine release and reunion. Across the water, a single tower holds both the weight of stone and the long memory of a love story.