History
In the Northern Song (960–1127) dynasty's capital city of Kaifeng, the famous architect Yu Hao built a magnificent wooden pagoda as part of Youguo Temple (between 965–995 CE.) that was considered by many of his contemporaries to be a marvel of art. Unfortunately, the widely admired structure burned down in 1044 after a lightning strike. Under the order of Emperor Renzong (1022–1063), a new pagoda was built in its place by 1049. The new tower was built of nonflammable brick and stone and was dubbed the 'Iron Pagoda' due its iron-grey color when viewed from afar (its bricks are in fact glazed red, brown, blue, and green). In 1847 the Yellow River overflowed its banks and the Youguo Temple collapsed, but the Iron Pagoda survived. Historically, the pagoda has experienced 38 earthquakes, six floods and many other disasters, but it remains intact after almost 1000 years.
In 1994, the Iron Pagoda was featured on a two-yuan Chinese postage stamp.
Read more about this topic: Iron Pagoda
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