Five generations keep ancient pagoda standing through time

Every few days, Zhao Zhonghe circles an ancient pagoda, sweeps away fallen leaves and checks on a nearby cultural relics depot.

The routine has shaped the past eight years of his retirement, but his family's commitment to the Xiuding Temple Pagoda stretches back far longer — across five generations.

"My great-great-grandfather was the first in our family to guard this pagoda, and I am the fifth," says Zhao, now in his 70s, with quiet pride.

Standing in Qingliangshan village in Anyang, Central China's Henan province, the Xiuding Temple Pagoda dates to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581). The single-story square brick structure is decorated with 3,775 molded tiles and 300 square meters of finely carved reliefs, making it an important treasure for the study of ancient Chinese architecture, art, religion, and ethnic history.

For Zhao, a son of the village, the pagoda is more than a landmark — it was a quiet companion throughout his childhood, standing just 150 meters from his home.

"When I was a child, my grandfather would take me to inspect the pagoda every two or three days. On those walks, he would tell me stories about how his grandfather protected it," he recalls.

Those stories trace back to the early 20th century, when cultural relics in rural China attracted antique dealers and looters.

"Family elders said a single tile from the pagoda could be exchanged for 20 pistols," Zhao says. "That made it a target."

To fend off plunderers, Zhao's great-great-grandfather built a home on a nearby hilltop overlooking the pagoda. He kept constant watch and struck a gong whenever strangers approached.

He also covered the structure with white plaster to hide its intricate carvings from potential thieves.

In 1973, Wang Shikuo, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, accidentally discovered exquisite brick carvings when the white plaster peeled off the pagoda. He then reported the discovery to the relevant authorities, leading to the restoration of the pagoda, which was completed in the early 1980s.

After retiring in 2018, Zhao returned to his hometown and took up the role of cultural relics custodian, continuing the family tradition.

As interest in China's cultural heritage has grown, so has the popularity of the pagoda. Visitor numbers surged after the Chinese hit game Black Myth: Wukong selected it as a filming location for in-game scene development.

Determined to help visitors appreciate its history, Zhao has dedicated nearly all his free time to historical research, consulting experts while gathering oral accounts from village elders and studying the inscriptions in the village. He has since become a "gold medal guide", offering vivid introductions to every aspect of the ancient structure, from its architectural style and carved patterns to its restoration history.

More than 70,000 tourists from home and abroad have visited the pagoda in the first half of 2026, according to local authorities.

One visitor left a particularly deep impression. "A woman traveled all the way from Toronto, Canada, just to see the pagoda," Zhao says. "She had seen several of its tiles in a Canadian museum, but said standing before the pagoda itself was an unforgettable experience."

Authorities are also strengthening conservation efforts through digital technology.

"We have been preserving high-precision digital copies of each tile and pattern, which not only enables the thousand-year-old pagoda to achieve 'digital immortality', but also facilitates research and utilization in the future," says Jiao Huimin, director of the cultural relics protection center of Yindu district, Anyang city.