Tianning Temple (Beijing)

The Tianning Temple (simplified Chinese: 天宁寺; traditional Chinese: 天寧寺; pinyin: Tiānníng Sì) is a beautiful Buddhist temple in the Xicheng District of Beijing, in northern China. It is a special place where people can learn about history and religion.

One of the most famous parts of the temple is the 12th-century Pagoda of Tianning Temple. This pagoda has eight sides and was built during the Liao Dynasty. People worked on it from around the year 1100 until about 1119 or 1120. Not long after that, the Jin dynasty took over the Liao Dynasty. The pagoda stands as a wonderful example of old Chinese architecture and art.

Architecture

This thirteen-story, 57.8 metre (189 foot) tall, eight-sided Chinese pagoda is made of brick and stone. It copies the look of wooden-constructed pagodas from long ago by having special dougong (bracket supports). It stands on a big square base, and the bottom part looks like a sumeru pedestal.

The pagoda has a balcony with railings, but it is completely solid inside with no open space or steps like some pagodas. It also has pretty arched doors and statues of heavenly Buddhist protectors. Its style influenced later pagodas, like the one at the Ming Dynasty era Pagoda of Cishou Temple in Beijing, built in 1576.

The design and decorations of the pagoda have stayed the same since it was built. However, the 1976 Tangshan earthquake caused the original pearl-shaped top piece to break off and fall. It has since been fixed. The temple grounds around the pagoda have been repaired and rebuilt many times during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The famous architectural expert Liang Sicheng praised the Pagoda of Tianning Temple as a perfect example of ancient building design.