GENERAL

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, China can be said to be a famous tourist attraction. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in the Great Mercy Temple in Yanta District, Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province. It is a seven-storey square pagoda.

The history of the giant wild goose pagoda

The tower is a famous historic site and landmark building in Xi’an, and also a major part of the emblem of Xi’an. The tower was first built in the third year of Yonghui (652) of the Tang Dynasty.

It was originally built by Xuanzang to preserve the Buddhist scriptures. Later, it damaged many times due to disrepair and war. It became the current shape only in the five dynasties and the later Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda began to tilt, and it even reached about 1 meter in 1996, after which it restored after protection. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Wild Goose Pagoda specially protected. In 1963, the Wild Goose Pagoda listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. In 2013, it was as a part of the “Silk Road: the road network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor” in the World Cultural Heritage.

The traveling of Great Mercy Temple

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area is not only a Big Wild Goose Pagoda, but also a place like Da’an Forest Park!

There is a large area of Big Wild Goose Pagoda Fountain Square. There are music fountains at 2, 4, 6 and 8:30 every afternoon. When the time comes, people are all around the fountains square. This music fountain performance is pretty good. You can watch it at your own time.

Walking back from the fountain is like walking in a big park. There are some small shops selling toys, drinks and souvenirs along the way. Interestingly, there are many bronze sculptures along the road, which are very classical.

At the gate of the Great Mercy Temple, I saw the famous statue of Master Xuanzang. Here, a group of people rushed to take a photo with Master Xuanzang.

The Great Mercy Temple built in the Sui Dynasty, and then rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty. The first abbot after the renovation was Sun Wukong’s master, Master Xuanzang. Every big temple has a grand palace with gilded bronze Buddha statues. Many people will come to visit it.

the giant wild goose pagoda

Looking at the Wild Goose Pagoda from the inside, different perspectives have different feelings.

From the towering tower, it is not difficult to imagine how high people respected Buddhism in that era.

the giant wild goose pagoda

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in it is said to be the place where the scriptures were stored after Xuanzang came back from the west. However, the scriptures have already moved to other places for preservation.

the giant wild goose pagoda

Here you can see several marble elephant sculptures like this. It is said that when Master Xuanzang came back from the West, the scriptures were carried back by the elephants!