The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, also known as the temple of gratitude, is a historical archaeological site located on the south bank of the Yangtze in Nanjing, China.
It was constructed in the 15th Century as a Buddhist place of worship but was then largely destroyed in the 19th century during the Taiping rebellion, but thankfully the tower is once again, in the process of being reconstructed.
When it was built, the tower was one of the largest buildings in China, rising up to a height of 260 feet with nine stories and a staircase in the middle which spiralled upwards for 130 steps.
The tower itself was built with white porcelain bricks that were said to reflect the suns rays during the day, keeping it cool inside. However, the real beauty could be found at night when over 100 lamps were hung from the building to illuminate the stunning tower, topped by a beautiful golden sphere.
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for this Chinese treasure, as in 1801, a bolt of lightning struck the tower and destroyed the top three stories, resulting in it’s speedy restoration, as it has just been listed as one of the Wonders of the World by Western travellers.
However, this beauty was short lived because in the 1850’s the area around the tower erupted in civil war, and resulted in the careless destruction of the tower by Taiping rebels in order to prevent it being used as a watchtower.
So as you continue your hunt for Wonders of the World, be sure to make a stop here, although it might be a lesser known monument, it definitely isn’t any less worth seeing.
Tomorrow: Wonders of the Medieval World - Hagia Sophia
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison