Since we started traveling we have seen pagodas of all shapes and sizes almost everywhere.
Kircher also noticed the numerous “towers”, as he calls them, spread everywhere in the country.
The pagodas are defined as “ towers superstitiously built by the Chinese all with the same general structure and architecture (…) it has a shape of an octagon and rises nine stories high”.
Chinese tower drawn in the China Illustrata
In the area surrounding Yinchuan, we have found the Baisikou Shuang Ta, a pair of twin pagodas, immersed in an evocative landscape, which best resemble the one drawn in the book.
Baisikou Shuang Ta pagoda
Kircher states that Chinese people believe that their fortune and happiness depend on these towers. This is not so applicable these days, but pagodas today are still considered holy buildings and are often sites of worship.
Prayer flags around the pagodas
