The Ning Shou Temple Pagoda in Qingyang City, Gansu Province

The Ning Shou Temple Pagoda has a square plan and is constructed entirely of blue bricks and yellow mud mortar. It has no base and consists of five stories of pavilion-style architecture, with a single hollow wall and a total height of 21.2 meters. The first floor has a side length of 6 meters, with an arched door on the south side that is 2.2 meters high and 1.8 meters wide. The central chamber has a side length of 2 meters. The wooden staircase inside has been destroyed, leaving only the wooden frame. Each level of the pagoda body features a hidden purlin at the upper part, with two sets of bracket sets on each side. The eaves of the pagoda are made in imitation of wooden structures, with two sets of bracket arms on each side, one arm with three sets of brackets. Above the bracket arms, 14 layers of bricks are stacked to form the overhanging eaves, with imitation wooden square rafters, lookout boards, and hooked tile boards underneath. The eaves above are made with an inverted layering method. From the second to the fifth floor, the body of the pagoda gradually tapers, with the eave lines being essentially straight. On the second and fourth floors, arched doors are alternately set on the east and west sides, and on the third and fifth floors, on the south and north sides. The second, third, and fifth floors of the pagoda have flat seats, with five sets of bracket arms below and hidden balustrades above. The form of the bracket arms and balustrades retains characteristics of the Five Dynasties period, with the fifth floor's balustrade panels made in a hook-shaped pattern.