page_title: One Hundred and Eight Stupas
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: One Hundred and Eight Stupas / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: One of the 108 Buddhist stupas at Qingtongxia, Ningxia, China.
context_page_description: The One Hundred and Eight Stupas is an array of one hundred and eight Buddhist stupas on a hillside on the west bank of the Yellow River at Qingtongxia in Ningxia, China. The stupas were originally constructed during the Western Xia, but have been renovated and rebuilt several times over the centuries.
context_section_description: The location of the 108 stupas has been turned into a major tourist site, and a large area of land between the stupas and the Yellow River has been paved over and landscaped with ponds. A number of buildings have been erected on the site, including a tourist reception centre and an exhibition hall. The exhibition hall describes the history of the stupas, and shows photographs of what they looked like when they were investigated and renovated during the 1980s.
  The 108 stupas are arrayed in a triangular formation up the side of a hill, facing southeast, overlooking the Yellow River. There is one large stupa at the apex of the triangle, with a Buddhist hall behind it, and below that are eleven rows of one hundred and seven smaller stupas on brick platforms of increasing width running down the hill. The number of stupas on each level is: 1, 3, 3, 5, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19. The reason why there are a 108 stupas is that the number 108 is a sacred number in Buddhism, for example Buddhist rosary beads number 108. Odd numbers are also considered auspicious in Buddhism (so pagodas always have an odd number of storeys), which is why the number of stupas on each row is an odd number.
  The first row of nineteen stupas starts slightly up the hillside, so the bottom platform is 5 metres (16 ft) high. The width of the bottom platform is 54 metres (177 ft), and the height from the bottom platform to the top platform with the large stupa is 31.82 metres (104.4 ft).
  The stupas have undergone intensive renovation in recent years, and they do not represent their original Western Xia form, although they are in the original position and formation. In 1987 the small stupas were 2.0–2.5 metres (6.6–8.2 ft) in height, with a diameter of 1.9–2.1 metres (6.2–6.9 ft), but after renovation and the addition of a canopy and finial they are now somewhat taller.
  The stupas are all made of brick, with several different designs. The bottom row (19 stupas) and the large stupa at the top have a zigzag ratha-shaped base, whereas the remaining 88 stupas all have an octagonal base. Rows 1 and 12 (20 stupas), rows 2–6 (23 stupas), row 7 (9 stupas), and rows 8–11 (56 stupas) each have slightly different shapes of hemispherical domed stupa body. Whole bricks are used for the stupa base, and half-bricks are used for the body of the stupa.
  The original stupa canopies and finials had all been lost by the time the stupas were restored in 1987, but as part of the restoration each stupa is now capped by a lead canopy of several designs (round or octagonal, with one or two balls on the finial).
  In 1987 the large stupa was 5.04 metres (16.5 ft) high, with a diameter of 3.08 metres (10.1 ft), but after renovation it is now somewhat taller. Unlike the small stupas, which are all solid, the large stupa has a small opening on the east side, with a small room in the centre. This is currently occupied by a Buddhist statue and an offering box.
caption: One of the small stupas on the bottom row, showing a ratha-shaped base
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