001 Architecture Giant Wild Goose Pagoda The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda stands within the Da Ci'en Temple in Xi'an. According to the *You Chengnan Ji* (A Record of Travels South of the City), the monk Xuanzang began building the pagoda in the third year of Yonghui (652). It originally had only five stories, with a brick exterior and earthen core, modeled after the Indian stupa. During the Chang'an era it collapsed; Empress Wu and members of the nobility funded its reconstruction to ten stories. After subsequent wars, only seven stories survived. The east and west niches at the base of the pagoda preserve the Preface to the Holy Teachings of the Great Tang Tripitaka and the Record of the Holy Teachings, both inscribed by Chu Suiliang. Tang Dynasty Xi'an, Shaanxi Province Pagoda · Tang Dynasty Architecture · Xi'an →
002 Architecture Liuhe Pagoda Liuhe Pagoda was first built in the third year of Kaibao (970) of the Wuyue Kingdom to subdue the tidal bore of the Qiantang River. It was destroyed by fire during the Xuanhe era and rebuilt in seven stories by the monk Zhitan through monastic fundraising during the Southern Song. After completion it also served as a lighthouse for night navigation. Though repeatedly damaged and restored over the centuries, its brick core endures. Ten Kingdoms-Wuyue Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province Liuhe Pagoda · Hangzhou · Wuyue Kingdom →
003 Architecture Yunyan Temple Pagoda The Yunyan Temple Pagoda sits atop Tiger Hill in Suzhou, commonly known as the Tiger Hill Pagoda. The temple was founded in the second year of Xianhe of the Eastern Jin (334 CE) when the brothers Wang Xun and Wang Min donated their residence, yet the surviving pagoda dates from between the sixth year of Xiande of the Later Zhou (959) and the second year of Jianlong of the Northern Song (961)—temple and pagoda are separated by over six hundred years and share no common origin. An octagonal, seven-story brick pagoda in the timber-imitation pavilion style, its brickwork simulates columns, lintels, bracket sets, and diamond-tooth eaves projections; the tower leans toward the northeast. Later Zhou Suzhou, Jiangsu Province Yunyan Temple Pagoda · Tiger Hill Pagoda · Suzhou →