Fotu Pagoda (Snake Bone Pagoda) 佛图寺塔Fótú Sì Tǎ

About Fotu Pagoda (Snake Bone Pagoda)

A 13-tier square brick pagoda about 30 m tall, built under the Nanzhao kingdom and close in date and form to Qianxun Pagoda, the tallest of Dali's Three Pagodas. It stands on the lower slopes of the Cangshan range north of Xiaguan, in front of Fotu Temple, which was rebuilt in 1998 after the original temple was lost. Its popular name, Snake Bone Pagoda, comes from the legend of Duan Chicheng, a local hero who killed a giant serpent, although the pagoda built for his remains was a different one nearby that had collapsed by the late Ming.

How to get to Fotu Pagoda (Snake Bone Pagoda)

In Yangping village on the northern edge of Xiaguan, about 10 minutes by taxi from the city centre.

Nearby

• Dali Old Town & Erhai Lake 大理古城与洱海 under 10 km
  Bai courtyards, old stone gates and lakeside bike rides beneath the Cangshan peaks
• Weishan Ancient Town 巍山古城 40 km
  An unhurried Ming grid town south of Dali, where the Nanzhao kingdom was born

Also within 20 km: Taihe City Ruins and Nanzhao Dehua Stele 太和城遗址与南诏德化碑 (under 10 km), Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture Museum 大理白族自治州博物馆 (under 10 km), Tianlong Babu Film City 天龙八部影视城 (under 10 km), Hongsheng Temple Pagoda 弘圣寺塔 (under 10 km), Kublai Khan Stele, Dali 元世祖平云南碑 (10 km), Dali Ocean World 大理海洋世界 (10 km).

On the map

Open Fotu Pagoda (Snake Bone Pagoda) on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it and what else is close, and to add it to a trip.

Learn more

• Wikipedia (Chinese)