Kaiyuan Temple and Xumi Pagoda

Kaiyuan Temple, on Yanzhao South Street in Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, is best known for the Xumi Pagoda, a Tang-dynasty brick tower that is among the oldest standing structures in the city. The pagoda rises about 48 metres in nine tiers and visibly leans slightly, a feature that gives it character and has been monitored by conservators for decades. Its name refers to Mount Sumeru, the mythical centre of the Buddhist cosmos. The temple itself is compact and combines the pagoda with a few remaining halls, steles and courtyards, and it also houses the remains of a Tang-era bell tower and an old stone tablet collection. Visitors typically spend 45 minutes to an hour walking the grounds and photographing the tower from different angles. The best vantage point is the courtyard in front of the pagoda, where the full height can be captured, and the side lane that shows the lean most clearly. Crowds are small in the morning, but organised tour groups arrive around late morning, so an early visit is rewarding. Admission is CNY 20, and opening hours are generally 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, although seasonal variations are possible. The temple is part of Zhengding's cluster of old-city monuments, along with Longxing Temple, Linji Temple and Lingxiao Pagoda, which makes a combined walking or short taxi tour practical. Zhengding is reached by intercity bus or DiDi from Shijiazhuang in about 40 to 60 minutes. Information is mostly in Chinese, so a translation app helps visitors follow the displays.