Three Pagodas 三塔 Pond Reflection
Probably the number one tourist attraction of the ancient town of Dali has the unwieldy name of Chongsheng Temple and the Three Pagoda Cultural Tourist Area 崇圣寺三塔文化旅游区. Because of this I shall shorten it to Chongsheng Temple Park or Three Pagodas Park whichever the case maybe but they essentially refer to the same place. I would first visit the Three Pagodas, since this is the most famous part of the park. I was in a hurry as it seems I only have one hour to explore the entire place! One look at the scale model of the park and I know I have a tough task ahead.
Going to the Three Pagodas 三塔
The most well known part of the park are the Three Pagoda 三塔. I have seen photos of this place and thought they were quite interesting but I never considered that I would one day come here. The Three Pagodas here are very old, with the central one built in the 9th century during the Tang dynasty. The story is that the area around Dali was inhabited by fierce dragons who cause calamities, but strangely enough they revered pagodas. So the enterprising people of the Nanzhao kingdom built the first pagoda to ward away the dragons. It seems to have work as the kingdom of Dali prospered.
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