Pagoda of the Six Harmonies

About 8km/5mi south of Hangzhou, on the north bank of the Qiantangjiang river, the visitor will find the 60m/200ft high Pagoda of the Six Harmonies. When it was rebuilt in 1899 the original brick core was retained and wood-cladding added to the exterior.

On this site there once stood a former pagoda towering to a height of 150m/500ft or so, built in 970 but burned down by a foreign army in 1121. The pagoda is thought to offer protection from floods and also serves as a lighthouse.

Although from the outside the octagonal building appears to have thirteen stories, in fact there are only seven. A staircase incorporated in the wood-cladding enables visitors to climb almost to the top. From there the view includes the 1322m