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Forest of Pagoda

As a pagoda is the burial place of monks, a 'forest of pagodas' may be said to be the graveyard of Buddhists. One of such forests belongs to the famous Shaolin Monastery (aka Shaolin Temple) in Dengfeng County, Henan Province. With its 220 brick pagodas, it is the resting place of the abbots and senior monks of the monastery who lived at various times under several dynasties, from the Tang to the Qing, spanning a thousand years. It is the forest of pagodas of the largest scale and built over the longest stretch of time.

The pagodas, mostly decorated with carvings and inscriptions, are generally of three to seven stories and of varying heights up to 15 meters. They are of different forms: square or hexagon in cross-section, a column, a cone or a vase in shape, with straight or curving lines.

Another rare 'forest of pagodas' lies in the vicinity of Lingyansi (Lingyang Temple) in Shandong Province. It is comprised of 176 pagodas of a variety of attractive forms, also built at different times since the Tang Dynasty. These pagodas, in Henan, Shandong and elsewhere, are a valuable storehouse of information about various sects of Chinese Buddhism, and about the arts of sculpture and architecture of different ages.

The Close-Eaved Pagoda             The Tower Pagoda
 
The Diamond-Throne Pagodas     The Dagoba

Mother-and-Children Pagodas       Stupas and Pagodas

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