Located in the White House Village, 1 kilometer west of Dunhuang City, as an important part of the Silk Road, the White Horse Pagoda it one of the symbol attractions really worth a visit during the tour in Dunhuang.

Story about the Origin of White Horse Pagoda
There is a legend about the origin of the White Horse Pagoda. It is said that the White Horse Pagoda was built by an eminent monk in memory of a white horse in 386 AD. In 384, the emperor of the Former Qin Dynasty (351-394) decided to introduce the Buddhist doctrine into china from the West Region through Kumarajiva (a master specializing in Buddhist dharma). However, when the Kumarajiva got to the present Dunhuang City, his white horse got sick and then died. Because this white horse helped the Kumarajiva go through the Gobi and even saved his life several times during the journey, so in honor of his loyal horse, Kumarajiva decided to built a pagoda. Raised enough money from the Buddhist followers, this pagoda was successfully built and named the White Horse Pagoda. According to the records, there was a 0.9 meter high pagoda carved with a diamond Buddhist sutra was excavated in 1930, but unfortunately it was lost later.

The Architectural Structure of the Pagoda
The White Horse Pagoda is 12 meters high and 7 meters wide with nine-storage totally. Structures resembling up-turned lotus petals surround the central body. On each of the hexagonal roof there hang bells and under the gentle breeze the bells will chime. The basement floor is built by laying bricks or stones with the shape of octagonal which is 3 meters wide. From the second to the fourth floors, visitors could see the angular overlapping shape. The highlight to see on the fifth floor is the protruding nails decorated with the lotus petals. The sixth floor is the main body of the tower which shows the strong Tibetan style. The whole tower presents the lama style of the Ming Dynasty.

The White Horse Pagoda could keep its original beauty because the Buddhist followers repaired the structure in every dynasty. Well-preserved with such a long history, the pagoda is regarded as one of the popular tourist attractions in Dunhuang.