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Located north of the Yellow River, White Pagoda Mountain is a famous tourist spot in Lanzhou city as well as a strategic point. Its undulating and perilous mountain ranges as impregnable ramparts embracing the city and together with the Yellow River, has formed a natural defense since ancient time. With a height of 1,700 meters and encompassing an area of over 3 million square meters, the mountain was opened up as a public park in 1958.
The mountain was named after the White Pagoda built on its summit. During the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty, the area was under the rule of Western Xia regime. Legend has it that in order to accomplish the cause of unification of the country, Genghis Klan expressed his wish in a letter to the founder of Sajiapai in Wusizang area in Tibet, for the peaceful unification of Tibetan region through consultations. The latter sent a famous monk to pay respects to Genghis Klan. Unfortunately, the monk died of illness in Lanzhou on his way to Mongolia. In winter of 1226, the Yuan Dynasty wiped out Western Xia and included Lanzhou into its territory. To commemorate the monk, a snow-white Buddhist pagoda within a temple was constructed on top of the mountain, hence the name of the mountain. Since then it has become a well-known religious site. It's a pity that the original pagoda fell apart in late Yuan Dynasty. "The Chronicle of the Renovation of White Horse Temple" records that the existing White Pagoda was reconstructed in Jingtai Reign of the Ming Dynasty (1450-1456). It's a solid brick pagoda formed by two well-joined parts: the lower part in the shape of an upside-down basin, and the upper part, a tower, with a height of 17 meters in total. Founded on a round base, it seven-tiered and octahedral, with upturned carved roof corners in dragon-head shape on each tier, from which hang
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