The sarira pagoda is located in the northwestern corner of the county town of Jingxian. The pagoda was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty and reconstructed during the Northern Qi and Sui dynasties, but according to inscriptions on a stone tablet found in the first storey of the pagoda, the pagoda was built in 1079 during the Northern Song Dynasty. It was reconstructed in 1091 (Song Dynasty), 1139 (Kin Dynasty) and 1517 (Ming Dynasty). But these projects were only partial repairs; the structure on the whole remains a Song Dynasty structure, built during the reign of Emperor Yuanfeng.
The octagonal thirteen-storey, brick pagoda is 63.85 meters high; each side of the ground storey is 6.3 meters wide. Winding staircases were installed in the middle of the pagoda from the ground to the top storey, each staircase positioned in a different direction on the different storeys so that all the levels of the pagoda were strongly connected as a whole. There is a door on four sides of every storey. Overhanging eaves with brackets underneath top every storey, while inside, every storey has a landing around the central staircase. The domed ceilings above the landings were made of headers. Unfortunately, the ceiling bricks have all fallen down.
The lowest part of the pagoda steeple is a Sumeru pedestal with decorative lotus petals around the main body.
The base of the steeple and its decorative lotus petals are also made of brick. Instead of dew basins the main part of the steeple is composed of iron plates one on top of the other, forming a cone-shaped structure. The top of the steeple is made of three bronze gourds on top of each other. This kind of steeple is rare among Chinese pagodas.
