Religious towers

thumb|Minaret at the Umayyad Mosque in [[Damascus]]

A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves, common across Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but sometimes Taoist or Hindu, and were often in or near viharas. The pagoda traces its origins to the stupa, while its design was developed in ancient India. Chinese pagodas () are a traditional part of Chinese architecture. In addition to religious use, since ancient times Chinese pagodas have been valued for the spectacular views they offer, and many classical poems attest to the joy of scaling pagodas.

Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, in Madhya Pradesh, India

Laotian Buddhist stupa

an imperial park, built in Song Liao Jin dynasties, adjacent to the Forbidden City in Beijing