The Iron Pagoda is a Northern Song Dynasty brick structure in central Jining, one of the better-preserved pagodas of its era in southern Shandong. The pagoda rises nine stories and was originally part of a Buddhist temple complex now largely gone. The glazed brick surface includes decorative panels with Buddhist figures, flying apsaras, and floral patterns that retain their detail despite centuries of weathering.
The pagoda stands in a small park near the old city center and can be visited in about 20 minutes. It is most interesting for the quality of its surviving decorative program, which gives a good sense of the Buddhist decorative arts of the Song period.