Yunyan Pagoda

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The Yunyan Pagoda or Tiger Hill Pagoda, is a Chinese pagoda situated outside Changmen, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. It has several other names, including Huqiu Tower, the 'Leaning Tower of China' (as referred to by historian O.G. Ingles) and the Yunyan Temple Tower. The tower was built in the later period of the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD), completed by the second year of the Song Dynasty. The tower rises to a height of 47 m (154 ft). It is a seven-story octagonal building built with blue bricks. In more than a thousand years the tower has gradually slanted due to forces of nature. Now the top and bottom of the tower vary by 2.32 meters. The entire structure weighs some 7,000,000 kg (7000 tonnes), supported by internal brick columns. However, the tower leans roughly 3 degrees due to the cracking of two supporting columns.