In China, the architectural structure of a traditional pagoda may be seen practically everywhere. China is among one of the countries which possess a large quantity of ancient pagodas and which have high artistic and cultural heritage value. According to official statistics, there are more than 3,000 ancient pagodas still standing all over China.

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, the Six Harmonies Pagoda in Hangzhou, the Flower Pagoda at Liurong Temple in Guangzhou, and the White Pagoda at Beihai Park in Beijing are among the well-known old Chinese pagodas. The Leifeng Pagoda on West Lake in Hangzhou has long been a household name, as that was the site where the plot of the popular Legend of White Snake is set. The Tsui Sing Lau (Gathering Stars Pavilion), located at Ping Shan in the Yuen Long district, is Hong Kong’s only extant ancient pagoda and a must-see for tourists seeking places of historic interest.

The pagoda, a structure with strong religious connotations, originated in India and entered   China with Buddhism. China’s first pagoda dates to 68 CE which is in the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220). In Buddhism, the pagoda is a reliquary monument used to enshrine the sacred relics and cremated remains of saintly monks or to store their dried bodies.

Introduced from abroad, the pagoda was the last form of traditional Chinese architecture to develop. But why should this architectural import be considered Chinese? The answer is that after entering China, the pagoda gradually transformed into a unique architectural form under the influence of Han Chinese culture and architecture.

From the beginning, the pagoda (Sanskrit: stupa) in China was different from its Indian prototype. The Indian stupa is a solid semi-spherical dome upon a wooden structure consisting of a pillar pierced by discs of descending diameter to resemble a multi-tiered parasol. The earliest Chinese pagoda takes its vertical form from this multi-tiered Indian element, creating a wooden multi-storied structure with interior space. After the Tang dynasty (618–907), the construction material for the pagoda changed from wood to brick and stone. Various pagoda types such as the multi-storied and -eaved pagoda, the pavilion-type pagoda, and the flower-type pagoda came into being. The ground plan of the pagoda also evolved in shape from square to hexagon, octagon, or circle. With the spread of Tibetan Buddhism from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) onwards, the bottle-shaped Lamaist pagoda appeared in China. In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the vajrasana, or “diamond throne,” pagoda emerged in China, inspired by the Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya, India. The White Pagoda at Beihai Park in Beijing and the White Pagoda in the Potala Palace in Lhasa are two famous Lamaist pagodas. The diamond-throne pagoda at Zhenjue Temple in Beijing is one of a kind. Since the thirteenth century, numerous wenfeng pagodas and feng shui pagodas, which have nothing to do with the spread of Buddhism, have appeared all over China.

Pagodas of early date, from the Eastern Han (25–220) to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589) period, were usually built at the center of a Buddhist temple. Influenced by the courtyard-style layout of traditional Chinese architecture, the great or main hall where the Buddha was enshrined became the central structure of later temples and the pagoda was either relegated to the back of the main hall, or housed in an independent courtyard.

In addition to enshrining sacred relics, ancient Chinese pagodas were also used as military observation towers, lighthouses or beacons, and sightseeing towers.

The oldest existing pagoda is at the Songyue Temple in north Dengfeng county, Henan province. Constructed in the first year of the Zhengguang period (520 C.E.) of the Northern Wei, the pagoda has been standing for nearly 1,500 years. The Foya shelita (Buddha Tooth Relic Pagoda) at Lingguang Temple in Beijing, built from 1958 to 1964, is China’s youngest pagoda. It preserves a sacred tooth relic of Buddha Sakyamuni, a holy relic transmitted to China from India 1,600 years ago.

The tallest surviving pagoda in China is the Liaodi Pagoda at Kaiyuan Temple, located inside the south gate of Dingzhou city, Hebei province. The eleven-story pagoda is eighty-four meters high, which is as tall as a modern twenty-story building. The name of the pagoda indicates that it was built not only to store Buddhist scriptures and sacred relics, but to watch for the approach of enemy troops. The construction of the pagoda started in the fourth year of the Xianping period and was completed in the second year of the Zhihe period (1001–1055) of the Northern Song.

The well-known Wooden Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Ying county, Shanxi province was built in 1056, the second year of the Qingning period of the Liao, and stands 67.31 meters high. It is the only fully wooden pagoda extant in China today, and the tallest pre-modern wooden structure in the world.