Luohan Yuan Temple Twin Pagodas

CHINA, Jiangsu, Suzhou

These pagodas were built in 982 during the Northern Song dynasty, and have undergone a number of repairs throughout their history. Luohan Yuan Temple was destroyed in wartime in 1860 during the Qing dynasty, with only the pagodas and part of the main hall remaining. These twin pagodas and the main hall were listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 1996.
The seven-story, octagonal, brick pagodas are 34 m high. From the second story upwards, each story has eaves supported by brackets sets and courses of dogtooth bricks. Each story has pilasters linked by architraves. There are arched doorways on the sides facing the four cardinal directions, and vertical bar windows on the remaining sides. Apart from the fifth story, which has an octagonal chamber, the other stories have square chambers. In order to strengthen the pagoda, each of them is offset by 45 degrees compared with the one above and below. The doors and windows on each story alternate with those above and below. Inside the pagoda there are wooden ladders leading to the top. A central pillar supported by large tie beams passes through stories six and seven. The pillar is 8.7 m high, which is a quarter of the pagoda’s height. The marked curving of the roofs and the exceptionally long spires give the pagodas an elegant appearance, which is typical of pagodas built in the Jiangnan (region south of the Yangtze River).