Wenfeng Tower is on a lean in Fenyang City, North China's Shanxi Province, March 9, 2016. Built in the late Ming (1368-1644) and early Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties, the tower is made of bricks, and is 13 storeys or 84.93 meters high, making it the highest brick tower in China. It was listed as a site under state cultural relics protection in 2006. The latest survey shows the tower's top tilts 1.82 meters to the east. (Photo: China News Service/Wei Liang)
Wenfeng Pagoda, in the northern province of Shanxi, China's tallest, is leaning dangerously and is in dire need of propping up, the local tourism bureau said on Friday.
The 85-meter high pagoda in Fenyang City is leaned 1.82 meters to the east, compared to 1.7 meters in 2013, said Li Shili, head of the city's cultural heritage and tourism bureau.
Built about 400 years ago, the 13-storey pagoda is the highest brick pagoda still standing in China.
Visitors have been prohibited from ascending the tower for safety concern, said Li Haizhou, keeper of the pagoda.
China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage has decided to do something about the situation, and the cultural heritage and tourism bureau of Fenyang has invited experts to come up innovative measures to prevent it from leaning any further.
