Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

The Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple was completed in 1056 under the Liao dynasty and stands 67.31 metres, making it the oldest fully wooden pagoda still standing in China and the tallest of its kind. It is built entirely of interlocking timber brackets without nails, with five visible storeys and four hidden structural levels, and it has survived at least seven substantial earthquakes over nine centuries, including one that reportedly shook it for days. Inside stand Liao-era statues and painted murals. The structure has leaned and deformed over the past century, and visitors are no longer allowed above the ground floor while engineers debate how to stabilise it.

History

The pagoda was built in 1056 by Emperor Daozong of the Liao dynasty at the home of his grandmother's family in Ying County, where he had been raised, and renovated in 1195 under the Jin; a plaque on its third storey records repairs in 1195 and 1471, and dating of its timbers supports the year 1056. The temple around it was called Baogong Temple until it was renamed Fogong in 1315 (Wikipedia, Pagoda of Fogong Temple).

What to look for

• The 1056 timber structure - the oldest wooden pagoda in China and the tallest in the world.
• The bracket system - interlocking timber joinery holding it without nails.
• The Liao statues - the Buddha figure and murals on the ground floor.
• The lean - the visible deformation the structure has developed.

When to go

May to October; northern Shanxi is severely cold in winter. The pagoda is usually combined with the Hanging Temple and Yungang on a Datong itinerary. It is quiet compared with the major sites.

Before you go

Only the ground floor is open; the upper levels have been closed for decades on safety grounds and no restoration solution has been agreed. The town around it is ordinary. English interpretation is minimal.

Nearby

Datong lies north; the Hanging Temple is between them at Hunyuan.

Key facts