Iron Pagoda
Name of Building
Iron Pagoda
Town or City, Country where the building was originally established
Kaifeng City, China
Date the building was designed and/or first built
1049 - Constructed
Name of Architect, Builder, or Primary Patron Responsible
Architect - Yu Hao
Patron - Emperor Renzong
Culturally Specific Time Period
Song Dynasty
Geo-Location
35.25000797591483, 114.42701208581097
Materials
brick
Size and/or Scale of Building
Height - 55.8 meters, 13 stories
Architectural Type
Religious
Formal Style
Pagoda
Building Description
The Iron Pagoda is an eleventh-century structure located in Youguo, a Song Dynasty Buddhist temple complex. The complex originally included a large wooden pagoda, the predecessor to the Iron Pagoda. Built by Yu Hao, the wooden pagoda would perish in a fire in 1044. It was replaced by the Iron Pagoda five years later, commissioned by the ruling emperor, Renzong.
Despite its name, the building is not made of iron. It instead gets its name from the multicolored bricks mimicking the appearance of iron. The pagoda is one of China's oldest brick pagodas. Standing at thirteen stories tall, the structure has lasted 900+ years. It continues to stand tall after numerous man-made and natural disasters.
Despite its name, the building is not made of iron. It instead gets its name from the multicolored bricks mimicking the appearance of iron. The pagoda is one of China's oldest brick pagodas. Standing at thirteen stories tall, the structure has lasted 900+ years. It continues to stand tall after numerous man-made and natural disasters.
Image source
Image 1 - 1049_AD_Iron_Pagoda,_Northern_Song_Dynasty,_Kaifeng_03, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/1049_AD_Iron_Pagoda%2C_Northern_Song_Dynasty%2C_Kaifeng_03.jpg
Image 2 - 1963-05_1963年_开封祐国寺塔 (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/1963-05_1963%E5%B9%B4_%E5%BC%80%E5%B0%81%E7%A5%90%E5%9B%BD%E5%AF%BA%E5%A1%94.jpg)
Image 3 - 1049 AD Iron Pagoda, Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng 04.jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/1049_AD_Iron_Pagoda%2C_Northern_Song_Dynasty%2C_Kaifeng_04.jpg)
Image 4 - 1049_AD_Iron_Pagoda,_Northern_Song_Dynasty,_Kaifeng_09 (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/1049_AD_Iron_Pagoda%2C_Northern_Song_Dynasty%2C_Kaifeng_09.jpg)
Image 5 - 049 AD Iron Pagoda, Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng 02.jpg (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/1049_AD_Iron_Pagoda%2C_Northern_Song_Dynasty%2C_Kaifeng_02.jpg)
Creative Commons or other copyright information
Image 1 - Creative Commons
Image 2 - Creative Commons
Image 3 - Creative Commons
Image 4 - Creative Commons
Image 5 - Creative Commons
Student First and Last Name
Moanna Dixson
Bibliographic references for the item
https://en.chinaculture.org/library/2003-09/24/content_36209.htm
https://www.visitourchina.com/kaifeng/attraction/iron-pagoda.html
http://www.china.org.cn/english/TR-e/43300.htm
Files
Citation
Architect - Yu Hao and Patron - Emperor Renzong, “Iron Pagoda,” World Architecture, accessed June 28, 2026, https://worldarchitecture.artinterp2.org/items/show/160.
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