Wuying Pagoda (Shadowless Pagoda)

Wuying Pagoda, also known as Shadowless Pagoda, stands south of Runan County in Henan Province. According to local folklore, it casts no shadow at noon on the Winter Solstice, hence the name Shadowless Pagoda. It is said to have been built by the monk Wuying in the Tang Dynasty, so it is also called Wuying Pagoda.

Facing south, it is a nine-storey multi-storey brick pagoda with a hexagonal plan, rising more than 20 metres.

From the first storey upwards, the width and height of each tier decrease evenly, forming an elegant parabolic outline of the whole tower.

The pagoda rests on a single-layer Sumeru base. The waist of the base is inlaid with brick carvings of flowers and animals. On the southern wall of the first storey is an arched gateway. The northern wall features a brick-carved lattice door with quadrilobed circular patterns. The other four walls are decorated with blind square windows with ball-pattern latticework and mullioned blind windows, exquisitely shaped and delicate.

Under the eaves stand bracket sets imitating wooden structural components. The walls of each tier are either embedded with bricks carved with Buddha statues or fitted with arched, arched-oval and pointed-arch doorways. Beneath each corner eave is a brick-carved double-lobed cantilever beam head, together with brick flying eaves and tile components, shaped just like spreading bird wings.

The outer contour of the entire pagoda forms a parabola. Its foundation is a single-layer Sumeru plinth. The waist of the plinth is divided by horizontal columns. Between the columns, the brick surface is carved with a pair of goats, two boys, as well as patterns of lotus, peony, wintersweet, osmanthus and miniature garden scenes.