Bayun Pagoda

CHINA, Shaanxi, Xi’an

Bayun means Eight Clouds. It was built on the grounds of Ruiguang Temple, which no longer exists. The pagoda was built in 708 during the Tang dynasty. From 1988 to 1991 it underwent large-scale renovation and was listed as a National Cultural Heritage Site in 2001.
The square brick pagoda originally had 13 stories but only 11 stories remain. Its present height is approximately 36 m. The first story is relatively high compared to the others and has an arched door at the center of each side, although only the one on the north side is real. Except for the fourth and fifth stories, they have two arched doorways on opposing sides that alternate with those on the story above and below. The second to fifth stories are decorated with gray brick pilasters that divide the walls into three bays. Other architectural features include architraves, capitals, rafter heads, and tile caps. The eaves are in the form of corbeling with courses of dogtooth bricks below. There are bracket sets beneath the eaves on stories one to five. The pagoda body has a tapered curved shape. Inside the pagoda there used to be wooden stairs but these were destroyed by fire and were not replaced.