The Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County in Shanxi Province Photo: VCG

Rao Quan, director of China's National Cultural Heritage Administration, has recently conducted an in-depth inspection of the Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian county and its surrounding environment during a visit to North China's Shanxi Province. Protection of this ancient pagoda, the world's tallest and oldest existing wooden pavilion-style tower, has once again drawn attention. 

According to an official statement released by the administration on Saturday, Rao examined the preservation of the pagoda floor by floor, and learned about key tasks such as ongoing monitoring, local reinforcement, and comprehensive surveying, as well as the progress of related research efforts. 

First built in 1056, the wooden pagoda is located in Yingxian county, Shuozhou, Shanxi Province. Although the tower appears to have five stories from the outside, it actually has nine internal levels. More than 50 types of wooden brackets, called dougong in Chinese, hold the structure together. Despite nearly a thousand years of weathering, the pagoda still stands tall and firm. It took craftsmen 140 years to complete this remarkable wooden structure, now recognized as the world's tallest ancient wooden pagoda. Its height is comparable to a modern 20-story building, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

During this inspection, the director not only checked the preservation of the pagoda itself but also looked into efforts to improve the surrounding environment, enhance safety measures, and upgrade tourism services. A meeting was also held to discuss the preservation of the wooden pagoda, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

Protection of the ancient pagoda has long received widespread attention. At the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress this year, the Shanxi delegation proposed a research project that would examine the construction of the pagoda. The delegation argued that, given the tower's current preservation status, partial reinforcement would be unable to fundamentally solve the severe tilting problem. In the long term, a full-scale dismantling and restoration will still be needed. They suggested that, while carrying out deformation monitoring and comprehensive surveying in an orderly way, a new site should be selected near the pagoda to start a 1:1 research-based reconstruction project, the Shanxi Daily reported.

Wang Yongxian, a veteran heritage expert who was formerly with the pagoda's conservation leadership team, told the Global Times that the pagoda, with its wooden frame supporting a weight of 7,400 tons, is experiencing progressive deformation - a slow-motion crisis that is unfolding gradually. Restoration efforts follow a cautious road map: "stabilize first, diagnose thoroughly, then treat."

Wang sees value in the proposal when it comes to training and technical experimentation, but added that the urgent focus must remain on the pagoda's actual safety. Having survived more than 40 earthquakes, its traditional structure has proven remarkably resilient. The immediate goal, he said, is to deploy modern reinforcement and monitoring to ensure it can withstand future shocks.

In addition to the wooden pagoda, during his trip to Shanxi Province, Rao also inspected the waterproofing of the roofs at the Yungang Grottoes, the renovation sites of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) fortress towns, as well as some cave restoration projects. He surveyed the management and monitoring of world cultural heritage sites, along with their public interpretation and visitor services, according to the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

Lü Ning, an associate professor at the School of Architecture and a senior engineer at the National Heritage Center of Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that their research has shown that in regions such as Shanxi, encouraging broader public participation in the protection and restoration of cultural heritage has achieved good results. For example, authorities have allowed social groups to "adopt" or sponsor immovable cultural relics, and have recruited and trained local residents to serve as "cultural relics caretakers" and "heritage protection workers."