Historic Site sights in China
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Tang-Dynasty Pagodas
These pagodas won't give you a 'wow!' moment, but you can hang with the old dudes getting haircuts, slurping tea and playing their endless mah jong games, south of Jinbi Lu. West Pagoda has surroundings a tad livelier; East Pagoda smacks of a new edifice – it was rebuilt in the 19th century after either a Muslim revolt or an earthquake (foreign and Chinese sources conflict).
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Shānhǎiguān Other Sights
The wall attached to North Gate has been partially restored. The city gates once had circular enceintes attached to them, as you can see at the East Gate. The excavated outlines of the enceinte outside the West Gate (西门; Xī Mén) are discernible, as are slabs of the original Ming-dynasty road, lying 1m below the current level of the ground.
The Dàbēi Pavilion (大悲阁; Dàbēi Gé) in the northwest of town has been rebuilt, as has the Taoist Sānqīng Temple, outside the walls. Shānghǎiguān's Drum Tower (鼓楼; Gǔlóu) has been similarly rebuilt, with a liberal scattering of newly constructed páilou running off east and west along Xi Dajie and Dong Dajie.
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Three Pagodas
Absolutely the symbol of the town/region, these pagodas 2km north of the north gate are among the oldest standing structures in southwestern China.
The tallest of the three, Qiānxún Pagoda, has 16 tiers that reach a height of 70m. It was originally erected in the mid-9th century by engineers from Xī'ān. It is flanked by two smaller 10-tiered pagodas, each of which are 42m high. While the price is cheeky considering you can't go inside the pagodas, Chóngshèng Temple (Chóngshèng Sì) behind them has been restored and converted into a relatively worthy museum.
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