Bao’en Temple Pagoda

CHINA, Jiangsu, Suzhou

Bao’en means Repaying Kindness. The temple was founded during the Liang dynasty (502–557) and is also known as North Temple Pagoda. The existing pagoda was rebuilt between 1127 and 1162 during the Southern Song dynasty. The wooden elements of the pagoda, such as the floors and eaves, were damaged in 1860 and repaired in 1900. The pagoda was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2006.
The nine-story octagonal pagoda is 76 m high, and it is made of brick and timber. A veranda surrounds the first story of the pagoda. The eaves and balustrades of each story are made of wood and the corners of each eave are upturned. Octagonal brick pilasters divide each wall into three bays, with a door in the central bay. The metal spire is approximately one fifth of the pagoda’s height.
The pagoda has an inner and outer wall, with wooden stairs in the space between. There is a square central chamber on each story. The ceilings are decorated with imitation wooden octagonal caissons made of bricks. They serve as valuable research material for the study of small wooden structures during the Song dynasty (960–1279).