Atlas of China
Iron Lion of Cangzhou 沧州铁狮子Cāngzhōu Tiěshīzi
National heritage site · Cangzhou, Hebei
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Days to budget
- Half a day
- City
- Cangzhou
- Region
- Hebei
- Type
- Heritage
- Listed as
- National heritage site
About Iron Lion of Cangzhou
Cast in 953 under the Later Zhou, this hollow iron lion carries a lotus-shaped basin on its back and is among the oldest and largest surviving iron castings in China; accounts of its weight range from about 32 to 50 tonnes. It stands under a protective roof inside Jiuzhou, the old walled city of Cangzhou, where stretches of the Song-period earth wall can still be traced, and the Iron Lion and Old City Site Park around it has an exhibition hall, a folk-culture hall and the site of an iron-coin storehouse. A replica poured in 2010 and completed in 2011, about a third larger, stands in Lion City Park in Cangzhou itself.
How to get to Iron Lion of Cangzhou
In Jiuzhou town, Cang County, about 19 km south-east of central Cangzhou.
Nearby
Also within 20 km: Jiedi Flood-Diversion Sluice 捷地分洪设施 (20 km).
On the map
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Open Iron Lion of Cangzhou on the map