The Iron Pagoda Park

In the northeast of Kaifeng City, the Iron Pagoda stands tall and erect. As a shining pearl representing the culture of the central plain, this Tower is world-renowned for its superb and exquisite architectural art and design. The Iron Pagoda, also called “Kaibao Pagoda”, was first built in the 1st year of the Huangyou emperor, in the Northern Song Dynasty (1049 A.D.) and has a history of more than 900 years. As the Pagoda is made of glazed bricks and tiles in brown, it looks quite similar to iron from a distance; and hence acquired its present name, the Iron Pagoda.The Pagoda is a 13-story octagon with a height of 55.88 meters. The width of the base is 4.16 meters. The upper floors gradually decrease in size until reaching the top floor. The surface of the Pagoda is covered in over 50 different design patterns including Feitian (literally meaning flying to the heavens, but is a representative of a flying sprit), Qilin (a kind of unicorn animal in legend), Buddhas, dancers, lions and so on. Therefore, the Pagoda is considered as, the masterpiece of brick inscription from the Song Dynasty. Besides its exquisite workmanship, the Pagoda is also famous for its being stable, this has allowed it to survive earthquakes, floods and storms.