The Jingzang Monk Pagoda stands on a slope west of the
Huishan Temple gate, six kilometers northwest of Dengfeng County, Henan
Province.
The Jingzang Monk passed away at the Huishan Temple in 746 of the Tang
Dynasty (618-907) and a pagoda was built to house his body. It is the earliest
octagonal brick pagoda in China. The nine-meter-high pagoda has a double-eaved
roof and a huge base. An arch in the central south side leads to an octagonal
room inside the pagoda. At the back of the pagoda is an inscribed tablet; the
remaining sides are carved with fake doors and windows. The structure has unique
brackets only seen in the frescos kept in the Beiqi Grotto at Tianlong Mountain,
the Yungang Grotto and the Longmen Grotto. The Jingzang Monk Pagoda provides
precious insight into the study of the Tang Dynasty's wooden architecture.