The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing

I stumbled upon this Historical Tidbit and though everyone would like it.

Via

by Q. AB. on August 31, 2009

The Chinese Emperor Yongle designed Porcelain Tower of Nanjing. In China it’s called Bao’ensi, which mean “ Temple of Gratitude”. It’s situated on the south bank of the Yangtze River in Nanjing, China.

European visitors include this tower among the wonders of the world due to its unique structure. They have given it name as The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing.

This exceptional structure was almost destroyed in 19^th century warfare and became part of history in other words forgotten part of history. The people who seen it on firsthand they claims it one of the most exalted structure of a Buddhist pagoda.

A French mathematician who visited China in early 19^th century describes it as the best-contrived and noblest structure of the entire East.

Structure Description

Its construction was started in the 15^th century. It was having octagonal base of 97 feet in diameter. The tower was nine stories tall pyramidcally with a height of about 260 feet.

An American missionary who visited Nanjing in 1852 according to his information the original plan for tower was of 13 stories with a total height of 330 feet.

Anyhow the smaller though made a little difference but it was not the size that made it a memorable structure for the visitors. The thing made it memorable was its structure’s elegance and beauty.

The white showy porcelain bricks of the tower made it unforgettable. In daytime the bricks glitters in sunshine and in night those were light up with 140 lamps hanging around the exterior of the pagoda.

The porcelain panels were having the colorful work of stoneware tiles with green, yellow, white, and brown glazes along images if animals, landscapes, flowers, and bamboo.