Qualla: Twin Pagoda Temple

Twin Pagoda Temple: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. They lean toward each other like old friends sharing a confidence. The twin pagodas of Yongzuo Temple in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, are the tallest matching pair in China, and for most of the twentieth century, one of them was slowly falling. By the time engineers intervened in 1995, the East Pagoda had drifted 2.87 meters from its center of gravity, a structural tilt accumulated over nearly four hundred years. The correction worked. Both pagodas still stand, their octagonal silhouettes defining Taiyuan's skyline as they have since the late Ming dynasty.

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain

Twin Pagoda Temple: Built by a Monk Named Fodeng

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 林高志, CC BY-SA 4.0. The East Pagoda was completed first, in 1597. The West Pagoda followed fifteen years later, in 1612. Overseeing the construction of both was Fodeng, a high-ranking Buddhist monk whose name means "Buddha's Lamp." The gap between the two construction dates is visible in subtle diff...

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Image: 林高志 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Twin Pagoda Temple: Emerald Eaves and Copper Gourds

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 林高志, CC BY-SA 4.0. The details reward close attention. The West Pagoda's eaves are painted with emerald green glaze, a color that shifts in tone depending on the angle of sunlight and the season. At the lowest floor, the circumference measures 4.16 meters, expanding slightly at the East Pagoda to 4...

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Image: 林高志 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Twin Pagoda Temple: A Forest of Stone Steles

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 林高志, CC BY-SA 4.0. The temple grounds shelter approximately 260 stone steles, calligraphic inscriptions carved into stone that serve as some of China's most durable historical records. Many of these steles were relocated to Yongzuo Temple from other temples in the Taiyuan area that were destroyed o...

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Image: 林高志 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Twin Pagoda Temple: Saving the Leaning Tower

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 林高志, CC BY-SA 4.0. By the twentieth century, the East Pagoda's lean had become alarming. Centuries of settling, combined with the geological instability that affects much of the Loess Plateau region, had shifted the structure 2.87 meters off its vertical axis. In 1995, a team of engineers undertook...

Read more: Twin Pagoda Temple on Qualla

Image: 林高志 | CC BY-SA 4.0