Longhua Pagoda

The tall, yellowish structure towering above the trees at Longhua Park is Longhua Pagoda.

Chinese pagodas, called "ta" or "treasure pagodas" ("bao ta "), were first found in India. With the spread of Buddhism into China in the first century AD, it was recorded in the Buddhist scriptures that when Buddha Sakyamuni died, his disciples cremated his body and took a portion of his remains, for which they built pagodas. This is how pagodas originated. From then on, when high priests or senior monks passed away, people built pagodas to house their remains. Such pagodas were generally known as "monks' graves".

Chinese pagodas have different artistic styles. Most of them are square or octagonal, and some are cylindrical or bell-shaped. They usually fall into the following categories: tower pagodas, sealed-eaved pagodas, arcade pagodas, lama pagodas, throne pagodas and pavilion pagodas. Longhua Pagoda belongs to the first category, with seven 40.64-meter-high storeys and an octagonal shape with eight corners.

But why do most pagodas have seven storeys? One explanation, according to Buddhist scripture, says that there are seven treasures in the world -- namely, gold, silver, glaze, pearl, agate, rose and the tridancna (a giant clam). Most pagodas are therefore built with seven storeys to house the seven treasures.

Longhua Pagoda is a wood-and-brick structure, with a brick body (originally from the Song Dynasty). In 1892, the 18th year of Qing Emperor Guangxu's reign, the balustrades on the lower storeys of the pagoda were damaged in a fire. Later, they were replaced with cement structures, losing their original appeal. In 1953 the government rebuilt the pagoda and restored its original look. The 131-foot-tall Longhua Pagoda at Shanghai's largest temple offers great views of the city and surrounding countryside.

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