Following the reign of the Han dynasty , ( 202 BC – 220 AD ) , the idea of the Buddhist stupa entered Chinese culture , as a means to house and protect scriptural sutras . During the Southern and Northern Dynasties period , the distinctive Chinese pagoda was developed , its predecessors being the tall watch towers and towering residential apartments of the Han dynasty ( as inferred from models in Han @-@ era tombs ) . During the Sui ( 581 – 618 ) and Tang ( 618 – 907 ) periods , Chinese pagodas was developed from purely wooden structures to use articulated stone and brick , which could more easily survive fires caused by lightning or arson and was less susceptible to decay . The earliest brick pagoda that remain extant is the Songyue Pagoda , built in 523 , and a typical example of a Tang @-@ era stone pagoda is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda , constructed in 652 . Although Buddhist influences on China waned after the late Tang period , numerous Buddhist pagoda towers was built during the Song dynasty . Tall Chinese pagodas was often built in the countryside rather than within a city 's walls , largely to avoid competition with the cosmic @-@ imperial authority embodied in the cities ' drum- and gate @-@ towers . The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda , built in a city ward of what was southeastern Chang 'an , is among the exceptions .