Foundation reinforcement and deviation rectification of the leaning pagoda of Dinglin Temple, China.

Standing for over 800 years, the pagoda of Dinglin Temple in Nanjing, a city in eastern China, is the world's most leaning tower on record. Prior to restoration work performed by an engineering team in China, the tower leaned towards the northwest at an angle of 7°59′ due to uneven settlement of the foundation and the overall integral stability of the tower was nearly critical. Inspired by a method used to move important cultural relics, the first use of an integrated bundling technology to rectify this tilted ancient masonry pagoda is reported. The leaning angle of the tower was successfully reduced by 2°23′ through a combination of deviation-rectifying and foundation-strengthening reinforcement measures. After this deviation rectification, the pagoda of Dinglin Temple now leans by approximately 5°36′ compared with an angle of 3°59′ for the leaning tower of Pisa. It thus remains the world's most leaning tower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]