The Tower of Buddhist Incense in the Summer Palace

The Tower of Buddhist Incense in the Summer Palace

The Tower of Buddhist Incense in the Summer Palace is a cultural tourism attraction.

It is the main architectural structure of the Summer Palace, built on a 21-meter-high square platform at the front of Longevity Hill, facing Kunming Lake to the south and backed by the Wisdom Sea. Various building complexes centered around it extend symmetrically to both sides in an orderly fashion, resembling stars surrounding the moon, presenting an extremely grand and majestic atmosphere. The Tower of Buddhist Incense is 40 meters high, with an octagonal base, three stories, and four layers of eaves. Inside the tower, there are eight huge ironwood pillars that support the structure, forming a highly complex architectural design and representing a masterpiece of classical architecture.

Beijing’s Tower of Buddhist Incense is a grand tower-like religious building and the central focus of the Summer Palace’s architectural layout. The name “Buddhist Incense” originates from Buddhist praises for the Buddha. This tower was modeled after the Liuhe Pagoda in Hangzhou and was constructed on a 20-meter-high stone platform, featuring an octagonal base, three stories, and four layers of eaves. Inside, there are eight large ironwood pillars that run all the way to the top. The upper level is inscribed with “Style Extending Moral Influence,” the middle level with “Radiance of Atmosphere,” and the lower level with “Heavenly Fragrance Beyond Clouds.” The tower is named the Tower of Buddhist Incense. It houses the Buddha of Welcome, and on the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, Empress Dowager Cixi would come here to burn incense and worship the Buddha.

During the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Qianlong (1736–1795), a nine-story Longevity Pagoda was initially planned to be built here, but construction was halted at the eighth level by imperial decree, and the Tower of Buddhist Incense was built in its place. It was destroyed by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860 (the tenth year of the Xianfeng reign) and was rebuilt on the original site during the Guangxu period (1875–1908) in its original form to house Buddhist statues.

It brings together the beautiful scenery of the Yuanmingyuan and Changchunyuan gardens to the east, the Jingmingyuan and Jingyiyuan gardens to the west, as well as the picturesque views within a dozen miles around Longevity Hill, skillfully integrating the former “Three Hills and Five Gardens” into one, creating a large-scale imperial garden scenic area. It is said that after this massive structure was burned down by the Anglo-French forces, it was rebuilt in 1891 at a cost of 780,000 taels of silver, making it the largest construction project in the Summer Palace. From the top of the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the scenery spanning dozens of miles around can be fully appreciated.

The tower benefits from the grandeur of the mountain, and the mountain gains elegance from the tower. Longevity Hill, set against the backdrop of the Western Hills in the distance and the Jade Spring Mountain nearby, appears grand even in a compact form, exuding extraordinary momentum. Verdant pines and cypresses create lush beauty. Kunming Lake, facing the Tower of Buddhist Incense, perfectly reflects this entire scene—the lushness of the mountain, the clarity of the water, and the blending of sky and light, all of which inspire awe and delight. The Chinese garden designers’ much-praised technique of “borrowed scenery” is perfectly utilized and embodied here.

Its exterior was designed based on the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang. Originally built during the Qianlong era, it enshrined the Buddha of Welcome. On the first and fifteenth days of each lunar month, Empress Dowager Cixi would come here to burn incense and worship the Buddha. The Tower of Buddhist Incense is the central building of the entire garden, serving as the iconic symbol of the Summer Palace and also one of the finest examples of ancient Chinese architecture, possessing high architectural art value. In front of the tower, there are octagonal steps leading directly up to the platform. Climbing the Tower of Buddhist Incense offers a panoramic view of the scenery on Kunming Lake and its surroundings.

Above the Tower of Buddhist Incense is the highest building in the Summer Palace, the Wisdom Sea, commonly known as the “Beamless Hall.” Its interior structure is supported by crisscrossing arches, eliminating the need for beams to bear the weight. The hall contains no wooden materials, which allowed it to survive the fire of 1860. However, the Buddhist statues inside the hall and the over a thousand small Buddha statues on the outer walls were looted by foreign invaders.

When Emperor Qianlong was constructing the Qingyi Garden, he originally planned to build a nine-story pagoda here. When the construction reached the eighth floor, an imperial edict from Qianlong ordered the demolition of the completed eight floors, and an octagonal tower, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, was built in its place. There have been various speculations about Qianlong’s decision to replace the pagoda with a tower. One theory suggests that Qianlong initially built the Longevity Pagoda nominally to celebrate his mother’s birthday, but actually aimed to connect the Three Hills and Five Gardens into a unified whole, envisioning the pagoda as the central structure among the imperial gardens. However, upon reaching the eighth floor, he found it did not match his original vision, so he decided to demolish the pagoda and build the tower instead. Another theory suggests that, historically, there were many pagodas in the western part of Beijing, and Qianlong wanted to avoid overlapping shadows of multiple towers, thus deciding to replace the pagoda with a tower. In reality, building the tower achieved quite positive results. The tower is tall and imposing, large yet stable, and blends harmoniously with the buildings on the front hill.

There is also a legend that tells of how the emperor wanted to build a grand garden in this beautiful area of Haidian. It was initially Emperor Qianlong who, upon hearing that there was an ancient tomb beneath Longevity Hill—the tomb of a Ming Dynasty princess—declared that it could not be disturbed, claiming that the princess had not been a kind person in life, so her tomb must not be touched. When Qianlong went to inspect the site himself, he found that the massive stone gate of the tomb had already been unearthed, but inside the gate were engraved eight large characters: “If you do not disturb me, I will not disturb you!” Qianlong was terrified and immediately ordered the soil to be filled back in. He then built a large temple on Longevity Hill to suppress the restless spirit—this temple became the Tower of Buddhist Incense.

Location of the Attraction

Inside the Summer Palace, No. 19, Xinjian Gongmen Road, Haidian District, Beijing

Summer Palace

Hall of Jade Ripples

Longevity Hill

Kunming Lake

Seventeen-Arch Bridge

Hall of Benevolent Longevity

Beijing Stone Boat