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Also
known as the Northern Pagoda, the Haibao Pagoda stands
in the courtyard of the Haibao Temple in the northern
suburb of Yinchuan. It is not quite clear when this pagoda
was built. Legend has it that the pagoda was rebuilt by
the king of the Daxia Kingdom during China's Northern
and Southern Dynasties. The pagoda, square in plan and
53.9 meters in height, takes the shape of a nine-floor
pavilion with 11 flights of stairs in it. The top floor
provides what has been known since the Ming and Qing dynasties
as one of Ningxia's eight major sceneries -- a panoramic
view of Yinchuan, whose landscape is suggestive of the
scenery south of the Yangtze River. The Haibao Temple
is sequestered in the shadow of luxuriant trees, with
its pavilions, terraces and halls arranged with a picturesque
taste. Since ancient times, the temple has been the sight
of an annual temple fair which falls on the 15th of the
seventh lunar month.
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