Located on the southwestern banks of Lotus Lake, the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas were designed by architect Zheng Guang-can (chairman of the Garden Plaza Hotel) and constructed in 1976.
The pagoda “twins” are both seven stories tall, built according to the saying “Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.” The dodecahedron buildings feature yellow walls, red columns, with glazed, orange roof tiles. In front of the pagodas are dragon and tiger entrances based on the concept of having both in front of temples to avoid calamities and to bring good luck. In the pagodas, Cochin wares “The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars” and “Ten Kings of Hell,” created by Xie Dong-zhe, stand as cautions to the world. The pagodas’ dazzling designs from the Dragon and Tiger entrances to the nine-turn bridge offer fascinating visual and spatial experiences.
左營／龍虎塔
位於蓮池潭西南岸的龍虎塔為金園飯店的董座鄭光燦建築師所設計，於1976年完工，有趣的是當初的興建乃慈濟宮受神明啟示，拿出建築師名冊唱名擲筊選出來的，無獨有偶，於春秋閣對面，早龍虎塔一些時間完工的啟明堂也同樣是透過唱名擲筊的方式決定，並且同為鄭光燦獲得指定。因其奇特的造型與周邊的自然人文風景，龍虎塔可以說是高雄最具代表性的觀光建築之一。
在設計上孿生的雙塔，塔高七層，採佛家七級浮屠之意，塔身為黃牆、紅柱、橘色琉璃瓦的十二角柱體高塔，入口奇特的龍虎造形由龍口進、虎口出，沿用了傳統廟宇入口龍邊虎邊的概念，有消災解厄，取其吉祥的意味，而塔內的「二十四孝」、「十殿閻羅」的交趾陶為謝東哲先生所作，極具警世意味，鮮明搶眼的造型設計與從龍虎塔連結至岸邊的九曲橋形成了非常有趣的視覺與空間體驗。
文／黃則維、柳青薰
圖／高雄市政府文化局、高雄市立歷史博物館