Yunyan Pagoda

CHINA, Yunnan, Yingjiang

Yunyan means Auspicious and Wondrous Land in the Dai language. It is the largest Dai pagoda in China. Its construction started in 1945 and was completed ten years later.
The whole complex consists of a main pagoda surrounded by 40 smaller ones. They are built from bricks made from local red mud. There is a square base platform followed by a five-tier base. The first tier has 28 small pagodas lining its edge, while the second, third, and fourth tiers have one pagoda at each corner, making 12 pagodas in total. The main pagoda stands on the fifth tier and is 25 m high. The lower body consists of an upturned lotus, while the upper part is shaped like a bell. Above that there are 13 stacked rings followed by a canopy and a jeweled finial.