Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

The Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, also named Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple, is located in the Fogong Temple, Yingxian County, Shanxi Province. It is regarded as one of the "Three Pagodas in the World", together with the Eiffel Tower in France and the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Built in 1056, this wooden pagoda has a history of over 1000 years. It is built on a four-meter-high groundwork with a total height of 67.31 meters, and a diameter of 30.27 meters at its bottom. It is 31.41-meter higher than the White Pagoda in the Beihai Park, Beijing, and 3.21-meter higher than the Dayan Pagoda (the Big Wild Goose Pagoda) in Xi'an. With a unique octagon structure in each tier, the pagoda has a specially designed iron lightning top that is refined and coordinated with the whole structure. Wind-bells are decorated under the eaves of every tier, tinkling and jingling whenever there is breeze. The pagoda is the oldest and highest wooden structure construction in China and around the world. It is recorded that it has survived seven earthquakes in the history, especially a great earthquake happened in the Yuan Dynasty (1328 A.D.) that lasted for seven days. The pagoda stood firmly and remained intact after all that, testifying its rational use of components, fine construction and sound quality.

The tower adopts the structure of secluded chambers in design, presenting a distinctive national characteristic inherited from the Han and Tang Dynasties while leveraging the traditional architectural techniques to the fullest extent. It's scientific and precise in design and consummate in structure, reaching the highest level of the architectural art in ancient China. In recent years, a batch of precious cultural relics were found in the pagoda, including written and carved Buddhist scriptures and thin silk Buddha figure paintings in the Liao Dynasty, which are significant for our further study on Liao's politics, economy, culture and religion.