Melody C.
Yelp
My husband refused to skip the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas when I asked if he would like to cut down our itinerary because they looked cool. And cool they were in-person, too! Although this landmark at Lotus Pond is sort out of the way, it was worth the trip. I mean, I bet a temple like these pagodas don't exist elsewhere... at least I have never seen anything like it.
You have to go through the dragon's mouth and exit through the tiger's mouth to leave your bad luck behind. To get to the mouth, you have to cross a very stable, zigzag bridge. Once you enter the mouth, you cross the body of the dragon, which is made up of a blue tunnel lined with 3D paintings on the sides of the wall. It made me feel a little claustrophobic. When you make it through, you'll be at the back of the dragon/tiger. You can take the spirally stairs up the 6 flights of stairs (7 but the last one is blocked off) for an aerial view of outside. Since it's at the pond, there's some scenic and relaxing views.
You can cross over to the tiger when you go back down. You have two choices: either walk up the stairs to go up the pagoda or just walk through the body to exit through the tiger's mouth.
It wasn't terribly crowded here but there were some other tourists when I went. Since you're already here, you might as well walk a couple of minutes over to the spring and autumn pavilions.