These towering Buddhists temples are common in China. It has to be a 7 letter word.

It's for a Crossword Puzzle.

Pagoda

Explanation:

A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, and were often located in or near viharas. The pagoda traces its origins to the stupa of ancient India.