The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing was designed during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424), shortly after its construction in the early 15th century.
It was first discovered by the Western world when European travelers like Johan Nieuhof visited it, sometimes listing it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
After this exposure to the outside world, the tower was seen as a national treasure to both locals and other cultures around the world.

On 25 March 1428, the Xuande Emperor ordered Zheng He and others to take over the supervision for the rebuilding and repair of the Great Bao'en Temple at Nanjing.
He completed the construction of the temple in 1431.

In 1801, the tower was struck by lightning and the top four stories were knocked off, but it was soon restored.
The 1843 book, The Closing Events of the Campaign in China by Granville Gower Loch, contains a detailed description of the tower as it existed in the early 1840s.
In the 1850s, the area surrounding the tower erupted in civil war as the Taiping Rebellion reached Nanjing and the rebels took over the city.
They smashed the Buddhist images and destroyed the inner staircase to deny the Qing enemy an observation platform.
American sailors reached the city in May 1854 and visited the hollowed tower.
In 1856, the Taiping destroyed the tower either in order to prevent a hostile faction from using it to observe and shell the city or from superstitious fear of its geomantic properties.
After this, the tower's remnants were salvaged for use in other buildings, while the site lay dormant until a recent surge to try to rebuild the landmark.
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing was designed during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (r. 1402–1424), shortly after its construction in the early 15th century. It was first discovered by the Western world when European travelers like Johan Nieuhof visited it, sometimes listing it as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After this exposure to the outside world, the tower was seen as a national treasure to both locals and other cultures around the world.
On 25 March 1428, the Xuande Emperor ordered Zheng He and others to take over the supervision for the rebuilding and repair of the Great Bao'en Temple at Nanjing. He completed the construction of the temple in 1431.
In 1801, the tower was struck by lightning and the top four stories were knocked off, but it was soon restored. The 1843 book, The Closing Events of the Campaign in China by Granville Gower Loch, contains a detailed description of the tower as it existed in the early 1840s. In the 1850s, the area surrounding the tower erupted in civil war as the Taiping Rebellion reached Nanjing and the rebels took over the city. They smashed the Buddhist images and destroyed the inner staircase to deny the Qing enemy an observation platform. American sailors reached the city in May 1854 and visited the hollowed tower. In 1856, the Taiping destroyed the tower either in order to prevent a hostile faction from using it to observe and shell the city or from superstitious fear of its geomantic properties. After this, the tower's remnants were salvaged for use in other buildings, while the site lay dormant until a recent surge to try to rebuild the landmark.
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing