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Yingxian Wooden Pagoda

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.