A — 01Infographic: China Daily · 2025 ↗VERTICAL TEMPLEFive open, four hidden:
Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple · Liao dynasty / 1056 CE
YingxianWooden Pagoda
A Buddhist sanctuary rising through nine structural levels—
a living record of timber architecture still carrying its own weight.
39°33′54″N113°10′55″E
Move the pointer to explore the pagoda
Select a glowing node to open its component dossier
Open research · non-commercial use / RESEARCH USE ONLY
FOGONG TEMPLE · SAKYAMUNI PAGODA
01 / STRUCTURAL EXPLORATION
Begin with the complete form,
then read the building component by component.
The pagoda is not a static relic,
but a structural system that remains at work.
A — 01Infographic: China Daily · 2025 ↗
A — 02Image: Gisling / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 ↗LOAD & MOVEMENTDougong brackets:
Dougong brackets:
flexible load-bearing joints
塔
EPIGRAPHIC ARCHIVEOne plaque, one history:
One plaque, one history:
time written across the building
From ‘Sakyamuni Pagoda’ to ‘Wonder of the World’, successive inscriptions reveal histories of repair, patronage and changing ways of seeing the monument.
02 / RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
RESEARCH MATRIXExplore six collections in
Explore six collections in
the Visual Archive
Every Yingxian Wooden Pagoda record has its own ID, verification status, location and source. Evidence and unresolved gaps remain clearly separated so catalogues, photographs and measured surveys can be added responsibly.
01
Individual plaques
52 historical records · 48 extant inventory slots · 4 lost
PLAQUES↗02Murals
Six Buddhas · twelve apsaras · six donors · doorway guardians
MURALS↗03Buddhist statuary
Five-storey groups · atlantes · five-clawed dragons · eight bodhisattvas
STATUARY↗04Timber structure
Column grids · hidden floors · brackets · joints · frames · finial
TIMBER SYSTEM↗05Measured drawings
Plans · sections · bracket typology · condition drawings
DRAWINGS↗06Historic photographs
Early surveys · historic images · current open collections
PHOTOGRAPHS↗03 / MILLENNIUM CHRONICLE
Image: Charlie fong / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗970
Across nearly a millennium
Earthquakes, war, weather and continual repair
have written deformation into its timber.
CHRONICLE / 1056—NOWOne pagoda,
One pagoda,
five moments in time
1056
Qingning 2, Liao dynasty
The Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple is completed as a vertical timber monastery.
1194
Mingchang 5, Jin dynasty
The ‘Sakyamuni Pagoda’ plaque and repair inscription become key dating evidence.
1933
Liang Sicheng's survey
Modern architectural history rediscovers the pagoda through measurement and photography.
1961
First national protection list
Listed among China's first Major Historical and Cultural Sites.
2013
Tentative World Heritage List
Submitted as an outstanding example of Liao timber architecture.
PRIMARY SOURCES / Research starting pointsStart with the evidence,
Start with the evidence,
then follow every source.
01 · HERITAGEWooden Structures
How to conserve
A hypothesis on the plan module:
Yingxian Wooden Pagoda
Wooden Structures
of the Liao Dynasty
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
↗02 · CONSERVATIONHow to conserve
the 960-year-old pagoda
Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage / People's Daily
↗03 · PAPERA hypothesis on the plan module:
from photographs taken in 1933
Journal of Architectural History
↗04 · INFOGRAPHICYingxian Wooden Pagoda
structure and construction
China Daily
↗USE & ATTRIBUTION / Use and attribution
RESEARCHFor architectural research, education and non-commercial public interpretation.
Images, diagrams and publications are credited in context and linked to their original pages. Copyright and attribution remain with their creators and publishers. New records should retain the author, title, date, institution, licence and original URL.
USE ONLY