The spread of Buddhism dramatically influences Chinese architecture.

By the sixth century, Buddhism has spread with tremendous momentum throughout China: Chinese culture is adjusting and adapting its traditions to include Buddhism worship.

The Chinese transform the rounded earthen mound of the South Asian stupa into the towering pagoda to house the sacred buried relics of Buddha at its core.

The Songyue Pagoda, constructed in 523 during the Northern Wei Dynasty at the Songyue Monastery on Mount Song, in Henan province, is one of the few intact sixth-century pagodas in China and is also the earliest known Chinese brick pagoda.

Most structures from that period were made of wood and have not survived.

Unique in form, being twelve-sided, the tower is 40 m (131 ft) high and built of yellowish brick held together with clay mortar.

The pagoda has had a changing shape over time from its Indian Buddhist origins to its form in China.

The unique many-sided shape of the Songyue Pagoda suggests that it represents an early attempt to merge the Chinese architecture of straight edges with the circular style of Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent.

The perimeter of the pagoda decreases as it rises, as this is seen in Indian and Central Asian Buddhist cave temple pillars and the later round pagodas in China.