World's tallest pagoda inaugurated in China's Jiangsu province

The new Tianning Pagoda, believed to be the tallest pagoda in the world, was inaugurated yesterday in Changzhou city in east China's Jiangsu province, where leading Buddhist monks from China and overseas reportedly gathered.

Beijing, May 1 : The new Tianning Pagoda, believed to be the tallest pagoda in the world, was inaugurated yesterday in Changzhou city in east China's Jiangsu province, where leading Buddhist monks from China and overseas reportedly gathered.

Standing 153.79 meters, the 13-storey Zen Buddhist pagoda is nearly 42 meters taller than the Shwedagon Paya in Burma and 7.2 meters closer to the heavens than the Khufu Pyramid in Egypt, said a Xinhua report.

Construction of the pagoda, which occupies about 27,000 square meters and cost about 300 million yuan to build, began in April 2002. Tough wood from Burma and Papua New Guinea was used in its construction, while 75 tons of brass and gold went into the top of the building, added the report.

An enormous bronze bell, weighing around 30,000 kilograms, graces the 13th floor, which can be heard from a distance of five kilometers.

Tianning Temple, one of the four largest Zen Buddhist temples, dates from the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It has been destroyed and rebuilt five times in the space of about 1350 years. The current abbot of Tianning Temple, 70-year-old master Songchun, has long cherished the desire to rebuild the pagoda. He has spent more than a decade raising the funds.

ANI