Quick Answer: Are China’s Iron Pagodas Made of Iron?
An Iron Pagoda (铁塔, tiětǎ) can have a cast-iron body or take its name from its iron-like color. At Yuquan Temple and Chongjue Temple, the bodies were cast in iron. The famous Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng takes its name from the dark color of its glazed bricks.[1][2][3][4]
- Kaifeng, Henan: Glazed brick with a dark, iron-like finish.[1]
- Yuquan Temple, Hubei: A cast-iron body assembled in successive tiers.[2][3]
- Chongjue Temple, Shandong: Cast-iron tiers from two building campaigns.[4]
Check the monument’s name and material together. Two pagodas can share a translated name and have different construction.[1][3][4]
The repeated eaves are familiar features of traditional Chinese architecture. To read its material, look closer at where the tiers meet and what the ornament is made of.[1][3][4]
Three Iron Pagodas Compared
| Monument | Body material | Date and visible form |
|---|---|---|
| Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng, Henan | Glazed brick | Built in 1049. An octagonal body rises through thirteen levels.[1] |
| Yuquan Temple Iron Pagoda, Dangyang, Hubei | Cast iron | Cast in 1061. Its octagonal body has thirteen tiers.[2][3] |
| Chongjue Temple Iron Pagoda, Jining, Shandong | Cast iron | Begun in 1105. The iron body reached nine tiers after a Ming addition in 1581.[4] |
Both Kaifeng and Yuquan have thirteen tiers and an octagonal plan. The Kaifeng tower rises to about 57 meters, while Yuquan is about 17 meters tall. The tier count describes how each tower is divided, regardless of how high it stands.[1][2][3]
In Kaifeng, the Northern Song pagoda followed an earlier wooden tower destroyed by fire. The replacement uses shaped glazed bricks, some bearing relief figures and decorative patterns. From a distance the color gives the monument its name. Up close, the brickwork and glaze explain the effect.[1]
What Cast Iron Changes
The Yuquan pagoda was assembled by stacking cast sections. The Jining heritage record describes the Chongjue tiers as individually cast and fitted together. The components at Chongjue include projecting eaves, railings and brackets that evoke the details of a timber building. From below, the brackets and eaves can read like carpentry. At close range, they belong to fitted cast pieces rather than separate wooden members.[3][4]
The reliefs also have a religious role. At Chongjue, seated Buddhas appear on the iron panels. During work in 1973, investigators found a silver reliquary inside a stone container in part of the Song construction. Objects from the later tiers included bronze Buddhas and a Ming edition of the Lotus Sutra.[4]
Why Color Can Change Over Time
A metal surface can change as a coating ages or the underlying iron corrodes. During conservation reported by Yichang in 2025, the Yuquan tower’s appearance changed from a brownish surface to a much darker one. The Yichang account attributes the older brown color to corrosion and an aged protective coating.[2]
The restored Yuquan tower and the dark brick tower at Kaifeng can both look dark in photographs. Visible brick joints or seams between cast tiers give you a closer material clue. Use a documented material description alongside the details you can see on a pagoda.[1][2]
FAQs About Chinese Iron Pagodas
Is Kaifeng’s Iron Pagoda cast iron?
Its body is built of glazed bricks. The iron-like color accounts for its name.[1]
Where is the cast-iron Yuquan Pagoda?
It stands at Yuquan Temple in Dangyang, Hubei. The tower was cast in 1061.[2][3]
Was Chongjue Temple’s iron pagoda completed in the Song dynasty?
Its lower seven iron tiers date to the Northern Song. Two more tiers and a finial were added during the Ming dynasty.[4]
Sources
[1] ChinaCulture.org. Kaifeng Iron Pagoda
[2] Yichang Municipal Government. Conservation of the Yuquan Iron Pagoda
[3] Embassy of China. Historic Iron Pagodas in China
[4] Jining Bureau of Culture and Tourism. Chongjue Temple Iron Pagoda