Ayuwang Stupa

CHINA, Shanxi, Xinzhou

Ayuwang means King Asoka (reigned circa 269–232 BCE) of Maurya. Also known as the White Stupa, it was built in 601 during the Sui dynasty. The original was made of wood but it was rebuilt in brick in 1275 during the Yuan dynasty. It was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2001.
It is in the form of a Tibetan stupa with a height of 40 m and a circumference at the base of 60 m. The base platform is high and is in two sections. The lower section is shaped like a bell culminating in a lotus platform, while the upper section is plain. The stupa body is quite small in relation to the rest of the structure. The base of the spire consists of a small platform with multiple corners. The spire consists of 13 stacked rings, a canopy, and a jewel-like finial.
According to Buddhist scriptures, King Asoka opened the stupas built by the eight kings, who had received the relics of Sakyamuni Buddha. King Asoka divided them into 84,000 separate relics and sent missionaries to different parts of Asia to build 84,000 stupas. They are known as Asoka stupas, or Ayuwang stupas in Chinese. According to the Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Dharma, a Chinese Buddhist text composed in the Tang dynasty, there are 19 Ayuwang stupas in China and this stupa is one of them.