Shanghai - Xingshengjiano si Ta Pagoda / Four-cornered Pagoda

(Local Name: Fang Ta) The 48.5m/158ft high nine-story pagoda, also known as the Four-cornered Pagoda (Fang Ta), was built during the rule of the Northern Song between 1068 and 1094 and was renovated between 1975 and 1977. It is situated 30km/18mi to the southwest of Shanghai in the city of Songjiang. Its rectangular ground plan makes it exceptional as pagodas from the Song period were usually octagonal; the rectangular shape is typical of the Tang period (618-907).

It can be seen that the pagoda's substructure leans slightly to the southeast and that the canopies on the southeast façade are longer - these are precautions taken by the builders of the Song period against typhoons from the southeast.