CHINA: China unveils its tallest pagoda with a colourful Buddhist ceremony in eastern Changzhou

Record ID: 609411

  • Title: CHINA: China unveils its tallest pagoda with a colourful Buddhist ceremony in eastern Changzhou
  • Date: 3rd May 2007
  • Summary: (L!3) CHANGZHOU, JIANGSU PROVINCE, CHINA (APRIL 30, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REVERENDS PRAYING DURING CEREMONY CAMERAMAN SENIOR ABBOTS SPRINKLING HOLY WATER TO BLESS PAGODA REVERENDS BLESSING PAGODA MORE OF CEREMONY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) WANG WEICHENG, MAYOR OF CHANGZHOU, SAYING: "China has reformed and opened itself up, and our economy is developing very quickly, so the living standards of our people is also getting better. The development of religion is closely linked to the development of our economy. If our economy is developing well, religion would also be developing at a fast pace." DRAGON DANCE AT CEREMONY PIGEONS BEING SET FREE AT CEREMONY (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 77-YEAR-OLD ONLOOKER, MR. ZHOU, SAYING: "The world today is very chaotic. There is war in Iraq and there is war in Afghanistan. Our world is not peaceful today. So Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, and also including China's Taoism and Confucianism, they are the advocates of peace and harmony." DEVOTEES PRAYING AT BUDDHIST STATUE MAN THROWING COIN AT STATUE CLOSE-UP OF BUDDHIST STATUE
  • Embargoed: 18th May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVACABNPP98YFHJPGBJYXG4JVX21
  • Story Text: More than 8,000 Buddhist monks and devotees took part in a religious ceremony to inaugurate China's tallest pagoda at Tianning (pron: tian-ning) temple in eastern Changzhou (pron: chang-joe) city in Jiangsu (pron: jeeang-soo) province.
    The 13-storey Tianning pagoda measuring 153.79 metres in height is now both a landmark for the city as well as a symbol of Buddhism's religious revival.
    Carefully crafted by skilled artists, the pagoda boasts a pinnacle made of gold, a rooftop built with bronze tiles and a body covered with jade blocks and fine wood.
    Costing more than 100 million yuan (13,000,000 U.S. dollars) to build so far, Changzhou government officials said the pagoda was fully funded by donations by Buddhist devotees and private companies.
    Only four out of the 13 floors are completed and will be open to the public after the inauguration.
    Changzhou government officials added the costs would be greater over the next few years as the temple seeks to renovate the rest of the floors.
    Tianning temple boasts a thousand year old history going back to the days of the Tang dynasty when it was first built. The temple had a pagoda centuries ago but it was destroyed in wars between dynasties.
    So temple officials say the decision to build the Tianning pagoda was one based on history.
    "From the olden days, whenever there is a temple, there has to be a pagoda. For Tianning temple, it had a pagoda in the past, but it was destroyed in the war. So our temple felt that is of much regret. For us we decided to rebuild this pagoda so as to inherit the fine traditions of Buddhism and to honour Buddha," said Reverend Kuo Hui, deputy abbot of Tianning temple.
    Boasting a 15 tonne bronze bell at its top, the pagoda is now a sight for devotees all over the country to visit.
    It is also the sign of a religious revival that government officials have allowed to flourish with China's growing economy and prosperity.
    Since the end of the chaotic 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, China 's ruling Communist Party has allowed religion in controlled settings, but it has faced constant challenges from underground groups that reject its authority.
    China outlawed the most dramatic spiritual threat to party rule, the Falun Gong spiritual movement, in 1999.
    With more than 100 million followers in China, Buddhism is the most favoured religion of the central government to fill the spiritual void of China's increasingly affluent population.
    "All religions advocate peace, so it is the same for Buddhism. So we have to take the initiative to spread the message of peace and harmony in today's modern society, and to inculcate some ideas of Buddhism into our society and our lives," said Reverend Kuo Hui.
    The central government allowed the country's first international Buddhism forum in the tourist city of Hangzhou in April last year.
    And for Changzhou, the building of the Tianning pagoda had the blessings of the local government as well as the official Buddhist Association of China when the idea was proposed in 2001.
    "China has reformed and opened itself up, and our economy is developed very quickly, so the living standards of our people is also getting better. The development of religion is closely linked to the development of our economy. If our economy is developing well, religion would also be developing at a fast pace," said Wang Weicheng (pron: wang-way-cheng), the mayor of Changzhou.
    For Buddhist devotees, the religion comes as a simple way of life in today's world of conflict.
    "The world today is very chaotic. There is war in Iraq and there is war in Afghanistan. Our world is not peaceful today. So Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, and also including China's Taoism and Confucianism, they are the advocates of peace and harmony," said onlooker 77-year-old Mr. Zhou.
    The second tallest pagoda in China is the 82-metre-high Liaodi (pron: leow-dee) pagoda in Hebei (pron: her-bay) province.
    Temple officials said donations of money and artefacts for the Tianning pagoda have come from all over China as well as from Chinese people residing overseas.
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