The Twin Towers, in the Yongzuo Temple, at Haozhuang on the eastern outskirts of Taiyuan, are the city’s major symbol and landmark and are unparalleled anywhere across the country.

They were originally known as the Xuanwen Towers, named for the Empress Dowager, Xuanwen (1578), who contributed to their building cost. They were completed in the 40th year of the Wanli emperor, of the Ming (1612), so they have about a 400-year history.

They sit on dry, high land and are built of masonry, 13 stories tall, or 54.7 meters, and are empty inside, with spiral ladders leading to the top and face each other. They have a sound-dampening effect and are virtually thunderstorm-proof. The north tower leans but is solid. When they were built, the master builder, Focheng, who presided over the work, took the steep site and northwest wind into consideration had built the one with a slight westward tilt on purpose. That design has proven itself to be a correct decision for several hundreds of years.