But it is not absolute. During the Sui, Tang, and Northern and Southern Dynasties during the heyday of Buddhism, halls gradually developed into temples as the main building of temples. Pagodas were more related to the commemoration of Buddha and the promotion of Buddhism.

When it comes to temple architecture, it seems that pagodas are inseparable. In the past, if there was a pagoda, there would be a temple. The pagoda and the temple coexisted in the vast river of time.

Here I would like to add the role of pagodas. After Buddhism was introduced to China , pagodas were first used to enshrine and house relics, scriptures, and various religious objects. Many pagodas will be engraved with inscriptions on pagoda construction, holy images, Buddhist scriptures, etc., and were once transliterated as "Buddha". Before Buddhism was introduced to my country in the first century AD, there was no such building as "pagoda" in my country, nor was there any word for "pagoda". It was not until the Sui and Tang Dynasties that translators created the word "ta", which is still used today as a unified translation.

Therefore, the appearance of pagodas has a strong religious symbolic significance. Chinese pagodas have continuously taken root and sprouted in the local culture for thousands of years, and combined with the traditional cultures of different regions, derived a variety of pagodas of different styles. There are covered style, pavilion style, dense eaves style , etc.; there are wooden towers, brick towers, stone towers, glazed towers, etc. Its various forms and architecturally decorative aesthetic towers, together with mountains, rivers, villages, etc., jointly construct the unique cultural and natural landscape of China.

1 The earliest Buddhist pagoda in China - the Qiyun Pagoda of the White Horse Temple in Henan

The Qiyun Pagoda of the White Horse Temple was built in the Jisi year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 69) and rebuilt in the Jin Dynasty (rebuilt in the 15th year of Dading of the Jin Dynasty, 1175 AD). Qiyun Pagoda is the first pagoda built after Buddhism was introduced to China. It is nearly two thousand years ago and is shaped like a thirteen-level brick pagoda with dense eaves. So it has the earliest traceability, but it is not the oldest one.

2 The earliest existing brick pagoda with dense eaves - Henan Songyue Temple Pagoda

was first built in the fourth year of Zhengguang in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 523), and the top of the pagoda was rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty. is still standing tall after thousands of years of wind and rain erosion. It is the earliest existing brick pagoda in China and the only example of ancient pagodas in the country. Songyue Temple Tower is a brick tower with dense eaves. It is also the only twelve-square tower with a height of 40 meters and a total of 15 floors.

3 The earliest existing pavilion-style wooden pagoda----Sakyamuni Pagoda at Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, Shanxi

Domestic The oldest existing pavilion-style pure wooden structure pagoda was first built in the second year of Qingning in Liao Dynasty (AD 1056) and completed in the sixth year of Mingchang in Jin Dynasty (AD 1195). The tower is 67.31 meters high, with a base diameter of 30.27 meters and a planar octagonal shape. , together with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, are known as the three most amazing towers in the world.

4 The tallest pagoda - Tianning Temple Pagoda in Changzhou

Tianning Temple is an out-and-out thousand-year-old temple, but it is the only modern tower building on the list, and it still uses steel structure. The pagoda has a total construction area of ​​27,000 square meters, a total of 13 floors, an octagonal layout, and a total height of 153.79 meters, making it the highest pagoda in China to date.

5 The earliest pavilion-type brick pagoda, the Xuanzang Pagoda in Chang'an County, Shaanxi Province, was built in the second year of Emperor Gaozong's reign (AD 669). The tomb pagoda of Xuanzang, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty, was moved to its current location and a pagoda and temple were built as a memorial. It is the earliest existing pavilion-type square brick tower. There is a square room in the first floor of the tower, where the seated statue of Zang is enshrined.

6 The pagoda with the most levels - the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali Temple, Yunnan

is backed by Cangshan Mountain and faces Erhai Lake . The three pagodas are composed of three pagodas, one big, two small. The big pagoda " Qianxun Pagoda " is a square brick pagoda with dense eaves, with a total of 16 floors and a height of 69.13 meters. It is the ancient pagoda with the most floors in China. It was first built in the Tang Dynasty; while the two smaller pagodas in the north and south were built in the Song Dynasty.

7 The most tilted brick pagoda----Suzhou Huqiu Pagoda

is named after it stands on Huqiu Mountain in Suzhou. It was built at the end of the Five Dynasties and the sixth year of Xiande in the Later Zhou Dynasty (959 AD), which is thousands of years old. It is an octagonal seven-story brick tower imitating a wooden pavilion, with a total height of 47.7 meters.

Due to the tower's own weight of 6,000 tons, uneven settlement of the tower base, and imperfect design and structure of the tower pier foundation, the tower began to tilt toward the northeast from the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. According to expert measurements, the spire is tilted 2.34 meters and the maximum tilt of the tower is 3 degrees 59 minutes. The Leaning Tower of Tiger Hill is also known as the "Leaning Tower of Pisa in China".

8 The largest and most complete glazed Buddhist pagoda in existence - Feihong Pagoda in Guangsheng Temple, Shanxi

The tower body has thirteen levels and is made of blue bricks. Each floor has eaves, and the whole body is decorated with yellow, green and blue colored glaze. The painting is bright and the color is as new as ever. It is the largest and most complete glazed pagoda in China. The year of its construction is unknown, but it was rebuilt in the 26th year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1527 AD). The tower has 13 floors and an octagonal shape, with a total height of 47.31 meters.

9 The largest and most numerous ancient pagoda complex - Henan Shaolin Temple Pagoda Forest

has gone through the Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and has more than 230 ancient pagodas since the Tang Dynasty. It is the largest, most numerous and most valuable ancient pagoda complex in China. Among them, the "Fawan Zen Master Pagoda" in the Tang Dynasty is the oldest brick tower in the pagoda forest .

0 The largest pagoda - Daming Pagoda in the capital of Liao Dynasty

It was built in the Liao Dynasty. The specific year is unknown, and it is speculated that it has a history of nearly a thousand years. The pagoda is an octagonal thirteen-story solid brick pagoda with dense eaves, with a total height of 80.22 meters and a base diameter of 36 meters. It is currently the largest pagoda in existence.

1 The earliest and largest Tibetan pagoda - the White Pagoda of Miaoying Temple in Beijing

is officially called the Lingtong Pagoda of Sakyamuni Relics and is painted with chalk. It was built in the eighth year of Yuan Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty (1271 AD). It is the earliest and largest existing Tibetan pagoda in my country.

2 The earliest all-stone structure pagoda----Shandong Licheng Four Gate Pagoda

The earliest existing all-stone structure pagoda in China was built in the seventh year of Daye of the Sui Dynasty (AD 611). It was entirely made of bluestone. It is the earliest existing and best-preserved single-story pavilion-style stone pagoda in China and the earliest existing pavilion-style pagoda.

3 The tallest stone pagoda - the East and West Towers of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou

The two pagodas stand side by side like two heroes, echoing each other and becoming the landmark buildings of Quanzhou . The East Tower was built in the second year of Jiaxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1238 AD), with a height of 48.24 meters; the West Tower was built in the first year of Shaoding in the Southern Song Dynasty (1228 AD), with a height of 44.06 meters.