The Fragrant Hills Pagoda () of the Fragrant Hills in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

was built in 1780 during the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

(1735–1796) as part of the Grand Zongjing Monastery. Although the monastery located just north of the pagoda was burned down by the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

in 1900, the Fragrant Hills Pagoda was unharmed by the nearby fires. The pagoda is octagonal-shaped, 40 m (130 ft) tall with seven stories, and has a stone square-platform at the base to support the structure. The pagoda is adorned with glazed tiles of yellow, green, purple, and blue hues. Surrounding the pagoda at the base is a wooden

Chinese pavilion A Chinese pavilion ( Chinese 亭, pinyin ''tíng'') is a garden pavilion in traditional Chinese architecture. While often found within temples, pavilions are not exclusively religious structures. Many Chinese parks and gardens feature pavilions t ...

with supporting columns, this structure crowned with a white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

railing and terrace.

External links

Fragrant Hills Pagoda at China.org.cn
Buddhist temples in Beijing Pagodas in China Qing dynasty architecture 18th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1780 Towers completed in 1780 1780s establishments in China {{PRChina-Buddhist-temple-stub