The dagoba is to the left of Xiantong Temple in Taihuai Town, Wutai County. It was built in 1434 during the Ming Dynasty to preserve the relics of an eminent Indian monk by the name of Baolisha.
The sarira dagoba, surrounded by four small dagobas of the same style, was built on a square platform of 2.3 meters high. The lower part of the big dagoba is a Sumeru pedestal 3.1 meters high. The main body of the dagoba is like an inverted bowl, about 3 meters tall. The steeple, also about 3 meters high, is decorated with a canopy, a crescent and a precious bead. The whole structure is 9.1 meters high; if the pedestal is included, 11.4 meters high. The four smaller dagobas at the corners are only 2.4 meters high. Most vajrasana dagobas were constructed to preserve Buddhist relics; few were used as tombs for Buddhist monks. The one at Yuanzhao Temple was one of the earliest such dagobas in China, built about the same time as Zhenjue Temple in Beijing.
The dagobas are surrounded by roofed corridors. At the back is a hall with five rooms for worshipping the five Dhyani Buddhas. The layout of the temple and dagobas preserves the style of the early years of Buddhism in China.
