Tower of Buddhist Incense (Foxiangge)

The Tower of Buddhist Incense is the highest point of the Summer Palace, serving not only as the architectural centerpiece of this imperial garden but also as the best vantage point to overlook Kunming Lake and the entire palace complex.
 

Tower of Buddhist Incense

Tower of Buddhist Incense Plaques

Clad in yellow glazed tiles trimmed with green, the tower features an octagonal shape, three stories and four-layer eaves converging into a pointed roof. Supported by eight ironwood pillars, each one meter in diameter, and surrounded by 24 vermilion corridor pillars, it showcases the peak of Qing Dynasty wooden architecture.

Approach close to the gate of the tower's ground floor, you'll see a gilded bronze Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara (a compassionate Buddha) statue cast in 1574. The statue boasts twelve faces and twenty-four arms, seated on a throne adorned with 999 blooming lotus flowers across nine layers. 
 

Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara

Surrounding the tower are porch rooms with south and the north gates decorated with yellow glazed tiles and green brims, from which you can admire the tower from different aspects. From a distance, the tower faces Kunming Lake to the south, stands adjacent to the Wisdom Sea Hall to the north, and is flanked by symmetrical buildings on both wings, forming a "stars surrounding the moon" layout.

 

Distant View of Buddhist Incense Tower

Overlook Kunming Lake from the Tower

 

Tower of Buddhist Incense

In 1760, the lighter wooden Tower of Buddhist Incense was completed on the original foundation. From then on, it served as a site for Buddhist worship, housing thousands of precious Buddhist artifacts and 48 statues inside. Destroyed by a fire in 1860, it was rebuilt from 1891 to 1895 by Empress Dowager Cixi.

It is said that during the construction of the Prolonging Longevity Pagoda, workers unearthed an ancient tomb of a concubine from the previous dynasty at the foot of the Longevity Hill. Emperor Qianlong visited the site and ordered the opening of the tomb. 

On the tomb door back, an inscription read: "Leave me undisturbed, and I shall leave you in peace." Stricken with awe, Qianlong immediately sealed the tomb and decided to build the Tower of Buddhist Incense atop it. Compared to the Prolonging Longevity used only for enshrining Buddhist statues and texts, this newly built tower was believed to own the Buddhist power to quell any restless spirits.