Pagoda of Fogong Temple 应县木塔

About Pagoda of Fogong Temple

Built in the Liao period, it is best understood by looking carefully at how the octagonal structure narrows upward and how the supports repeat without making every level identical. The ground-floor Buddha provides a second, interior focus where admission allows. Plan an exterior-and-ground-level visit; the monument's fame does not imply that its upper floors are open.

The pagoda's construction date is not confirmed by contemporary sources; Ming-dynasty gazetteers identify it as built in the second year of the Liao Qingning era (1056), and later plaques record further repairs during the Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties. It was raised by Emperor Daozong of Liao at the site of his grandmother's family home, about 85 kilometres south of the Liao capital at Datong. The pagoda has survived several major earthquakes, and in 1926 it was struck by more than two hundred artillery shells during fighting between rival warlords without collapsing.

The pagoda stands 67.31 metres tall on a stone platform, with an octagonal plan 30.27 metres in diameter. It appears from the outside to have five storeys, but the first four each conceal an additional internal level serving as the base for the storey above. Its timber frame uses fifty-four different types of dougong brackets. Each storey's interior houses Buddhist images; the ground floor's inner chamber contains a Sakyamuni statue about 10 metres tall. The pagoda was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 1961, and in September 2016 Guinness World Records certified it as the world's tallest wooden pagoda.

What to look for

• The octagonal timber tower, repeated bracket sets and projecting eaves.
• The ground-floor Buddha and the relationship between the statue, surrounding columns and high interior.

Location & getting there

Getting to Pagoda of Fogong Temple

Go to Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in Ying County's town centre, the widely used name for the Fogong Temple pagoda.

• Check current access restrictions at the entrance and plan to appreciate the upper structure from the ground.