The Tower of Buddhist Incense rules the Summer Palace and is the center of the architectural outlay of the Summer Palace, built on a 20-meter-tall base, facing Kunming Lake. It is 41meters (about 135 feet) high, facing Kunming Lake southward, back on the Hall of the Sea of Wisdom, and is also flanked by symmetrical buildings. It stands with the aid of eight ironwood pillars.

The Tower of Buddhist Incense is a magnificent religious building in Beijing. Why was it named Tower of Buddhist Incense? It is because building this tower meant to extol the virtues of the Buddha. Between 1736 and 1795 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty, Emperor Qianlong ordered to build a nine-story tower but decided to stop building it when eight floors had already been finished, and ordered to a build today’s Tower of Buddhist Incense. In 1860, the tower was destroyed by the British and French Armies and reconstructed between 1875 and 1908 on the original site. In the tower a Buddha’s statue was placed for worship.