The North Temple Pagoda was originally the Tongxuan Temple during the reign of Chiwu of the Eastern Wu in the Three States built by Sun Quan, the Emperor of Wu, for his wet nurse. So far it has a history of more than 1,700 years.
The North Temple Pagoda is a provincial preservation unit of historical and cultural relics and is popularly praised as the Number One Pagoda in South of the Yangtze River . Standing far apart facing the Tiger Hill Pagoda, the North Temple Pagoda is also a famous old pagoda and an important symbol of Suzhou.
The North Temple Pagoda has a long history. It was originally an eleven-storied pagoda built by Zhanghui, a monk in the Liang Dynasty. Then it was destroyed by the flames of war and the base of the North Temple Pagoda today was built by Dayuan, a monk in the Southern Song Dynasty.
The North Temple Pagoda is a brick and wooden Buddhist pagoda of the style of building and has nine-storey with eight sides each. With the height of 76 meters, it is the highest of the pagodas in Suzhou. Its body consists of the outer corridors, the inner corridors and the square rooms in the center. Visitors can walk up along the wooden stairs in the internal corridors and by leaning on the railings look down at the panorama of the city as well as look at hills, waters, and rural scenery of Suzhou in the distance.
