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Experts Reveal Secrets with Long-existing Wooden Pagoda
Some Chinese scientists and architects have concluded after field study that perfect structural design, geological location, ideal climate, and use of sustainable timber are factors behind the nearly 1,000-year old the wooden pagoda in Yingxian county of Shanxi Province in north China.
Standing 65.86 meters, the octagonal pagoda is not only the tallest but also the oldest wooden pagoda in China today. Compared with the renowned Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, the wooden pagoda in Yingxian is 115 years older and 11.36 meters taller. The pagoda was listed as a cultural heritage under first-class State protection in the 1950s.
"The structure of the wooden pagoda is almost perfect," said Ye Keming, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "It's hard to imagine how the craftsmen 1,000 years ago came up with the complex and faultless design without the aid of computers."
"The structure of the pagoda is very similar to some modern high-rises and it ensures not only sufficient space inside the pagoda but also adequate stability," said Jiang Huancheng, one of the designers of the Oriental Pearl TV tower in Shanghai, the highest building in Asia.
Besides, the dry and windy weather in Yingxian County helped protect the pagoda from being attacked by moths and the use of durable timber also contributed to the long life of the pagoda, according to the experts.
Although it has successfully weathered nearly a thousand years of climatic changes, the pagoda is now seriously unaligned, mainly due to the damage done by numerous strong earthquakes and cannon attacks. The first two stories of the pagoda are leaning northeastward, and some of its wooden columns and parts are broken or split.
The Chinese government plans to start a massive restoration and salvation project to save the wooden pagoda at all costs.
Preparations for the restoration project including an overall estimate of the damage and geological exploration of the pagoda's foundation are already near completion, and are expected to cost nearly seven million yuan.
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