Pagoda originated from India, and was introduced to China along with Buddhism in Han Dynasty. Pagoda, a translation from Indic Sanskrit. originally meant the grave where the remains of Indian monks of high rank were kept after they passed away.

The ancient pagodas we've seen today are a combination of both Indian and Chinese architectural art, and they come in various shapes and forms. As far as appearance is concerned, there are circular, hexagonal and octagonal pagodas. If classified by building materials, there are pagodas built with wood, bricks, rocks, iron, bronze, glazed titles or even gold, silver or pearls. Normally, the number of stories varies from 5 to 13, but it is always an odd number. The existing famous ancient pagodas include Great Dayan Pagoda in Xi'an, Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian county of Shanxi province, Iron Pagoda in Keifeng of Henan province, Keiyuansi Brick Pagoda in Dingxian county of Hebei province, Liuhe Pagoda in Hangzhou, Liuli Pagoda at the Fragrant Hills in Beijing. Those ancient pagodas reflect long history of China as well as high level of architectural craftsmanship.

Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian county, Shanxi province, was built 1,000 years ago. It was 9 stories, and is up to 70 m high. It is the oldest and highest still existing timber pagoda building in world. Through seven times earthquakes, it has remains absolutely still.