Yingxian Wooden
Pagoda, located in Yingxian County, about 70 kilometers south of Datong,
is the oldest and tallest wooden pagoda in China.
Yingxian
Wooden Pagoda was
built during the Liao Dynasty (in 1056) and has a history of nearly 1,000
years. It is 60 meters tall and 30 meters in diameters at the base. From
the outside, it appears to be a five-storied structure, but in fact it
has a total of nine stories with four hidden inside.
Yingxian
Wooden Pagoda was
built with about 54 different kinds of brackets, and jointed only by the
tenors and mortises without any nails or rivets at all. Every floor was
supported by wooden pillars from inside and outside, about 60kinds of
inclined beams, wooden stumps and short pillars were used between the
wooden pillars. is a huge building project with high-digree difficulty.
When the wind blows, wind bells hung under each eave make sweet sounds,
which add more interest to this wooden pagoda.
Every floor
in the Wooden Pagoda preserved Buddha image and relics in the pagoda.
The image of Sakyamuni is of first floor looks grand and solemn. There
is a sitting Buddha who faces to four directions on the 3rd floor and
a sitted image of Sakyamuni in the middle of 5th floor. Standing on the
top floor, you can see the views 60 kilometers away.
Yingxian
Wooden Pagoda has now also been placed under the Cultural Relics Protection
Units.
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