Beichuan Pagoda, Buddhist pagoda in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, China

Beichuan Pagoda is a multi-tiered structure built with traditional Chinese design principles and marked by strong vertical symmetry throughout. The construction displays carefully executed details characteristic of Buddhist architecture in this region.

Beichuan Pagoda was first built in the Ming dynasty and rebuilt in 1727, the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign, under Zhaozhou prefect Xu Shuhong, who wrote the restoration preface carved on its north face. Further major repairs followed in 1905 and around 1912, and local government repairs took place around 2023. It was listed as a Dali City heritage site in September 1985 and as a Dali Prefecture site on 17 September 2020.

Beichuan Pagoda is a feng shui tower, built to subdue flooding on the Boluo River, not a Buddhist monument. Each year on the sixteenth day of the sixth lunar month, villagers hold the White Pagoda Festival (Baita Hui) here. The tower's name also lives on in the nearby Beichuan Pagoda Bridge, a Ming single-arch stone bridge 47 metres to its southwest.

Beichuan Pagoda stands in Hongshan Village, Manjiang Subdistrict, Dali City, on the east bank of the Boluo River southwest of the Dali Cement Group works. The Ming-era single-arch Beichuan Pagoda Bridge, 10.1 m long with a 6.1 m arch, crosses the river 47 m southwest of the tower. The tower was repaired around 2023; it is a protected heritage site, so keep to the grounds and leave the marble inscriptions untouched.

The tower's name is often confused with the nearby village: the structure stands in Hongshan Village, while Beichuan refers to the Beichuan Pagoda itself. Its gourd-shaped finial is a modern replacement, not the original. Look for the marble plaques set into the lowest storey: the north one records the 1727 restoration by Zhaozhou prefect Xu Shuhong.