佛光寺东大殿East Main Hall, Foguang Temple

Location: Mount Wutai (五台山), Wutai County, Shanxi, China
Period: Tang dynasty (唐), built 857 CE
Type: Hall (殿堂): 7 × 4 bays, single-eave hip roof
Size: About 34.0 m × 17.7 m, 36 columns

One of the few surviving Tang timber halls and among the best documented. Its regular grid and large bracket sets show the system that the Song-dynasty manual Yingzao Fashi (1103) later wrote down. Member names follow that manual.

Stage 5 of 5

Age of the timber

Newly built0

0 · new100 · ancient

Darkens the wood, fades and peels the red ochre paint, roughens surfaces and adds settlement warping.

View

Components

Select a component to highlight every member of that type.

Joinery · 榫卯

Turn on X-ray to see coloured markers at each joint.

How to use

Play builds the hall in five stages. Step moves one stage at a time. Click a stage card to jump to it.
Disassemble takes the hall apart in the reverse order.
Drag to orbit. Scroll or pinch to zoom. Right-drag or two-finger drag to pan.
Hover over or tap any member to see its name and what it does.
Drag the Age slider to go from newly built to centuries old.
X-ray makes the roof and walls see-through and marks the joints.
Keys: Space play/pause, ←→ step, D disassemble, X X-ray, L labels, 1–5 stage, 0 reset.