The Zhenfeng Pagoda () in Anqing City, Anhui Province, People's Republic of China, is a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

originally built in 1570 during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. Due to its location near a bend in the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

, the pagoda was formerly used as a lighthouse, and contains niches for lanterns. After construction, the pagoda was initially called the "Ten-thousand Buddha" () pagoda due to its interior containing over six hundred

Buddha statues Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as Buddharūpa (literally, "Form of the Awakened One") in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in ...

. p. 147"

Structure

Built of brick and tall, each of the pagoda's seven stories has seven corners, thereby creating a

heptagon In geometry, a heptagon or septagon is a seven-sided polygon or 7-gon. The heptagon is sometimes referred to as the septagon, using "sept-" (an elision of ''septua-'', a Latin-derived numerical prefix, rather than '' hepta-'', a Greek-derived nu ...

. Above the windows on each floor are a set of flying eaves. From the first to the sixth floor, arched doorways lead to an outside balcony. A total of 168 stairs inside the pagoda allow access to the top floor. The walls are tapered slightly, shaping the structure into a partial cone.

References

Pagodas in China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Anhui Buildings and structures completed in 1570 Buildings and structures in Anqing 1570 establishments in China Buddhist temples in Anhui Ming dynasty architecture {{PRChina-religious-struct-stub