Xinghua Temple Pagoda

CHINA, Anhui, Bozhou

This pagoda is also called Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda. There are two steles inside the pagoda indicating that its construction started around 1102 during the Northern Song dynasty. The name Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda is derived from the fact that the whole structure is covered with over 3,000 tri-color glazed bricks, each with three Buddhas carved upon it. It is estimated that there are almost ten thousand Buddhas. The pagoda was listed as a Provincial Cultural Heritage Site in 1981.
The 13-story, octagonal, brick pagoda is over 36 m high. There are doorways located on the sides facing the four cardinal directions, with false windows on the remaining sides. The doors and windows on the first to seventh story face the same direction, but from the eighth story upwards they alternate. The eaves are narrow and are supported by bracket sets. The iron spire consists of an inverted bowl, stacked rings, a canopy, and a jewel.