 Although the Pagoda of Fogong Temple is the tallest extant wooden pagoda , the tallest Chinese pagoda built in the dynastic era that remains standing is the Liaodi Pagoda . Completed in 1055 , it is 84 meters ( 276 ft ) tall , with an octagonal base on a large platform , surpassing the 69 @-@ meter ( 226 ft ) Qianxun Pagoda , which had held the record since its construction in the 9th century by the Kingdom of Dali . Although the Liaodi Pagoda served its religious purpose as a Buddhist landmark in the Kaiyuan Monastery of Ding County , Hebei province , its great height gave it another valuable function , as a military watch tower that was used to observe movements of the Liao enemy . Beside their utility in surveillance , pagoda towers could also serve as astronomical observatories ; one such is the Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory , built in 1276 and still standing today . 
