The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda: A Glimpse Through the Chang'an Road | A Must-Visit in Xi'an

What is the most representative architecture of Xi'an? One is the City Wall, and the other is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The City Wall is square and orderly, and so is the pagoda. Together, the city and the pagoda interpret the appearance and tradition of an ancient capital through thousands of years. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is located within the Daci'en Temple, also known as the 'Ci'en Temple Pagoda'. In the third year of the Tang Dynasty's Yonghui era (652 AD), Xuanzang supervised the construction of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda to preserve the Buddhist scriptures and statues he brought back to Chang'an from India via the Silk Road. As the earliest and largest square pavilion-style brick pagoda from the Tang Dynasty that still exists today, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is a typical piece of evidence of the ancient Indian Buddhist temple architectural form, which followed Buddhism into the Central Plains and integrated into Chinese culture. Daci'en Temple was the most famous and magnificent Buddhist temple within the Tang Dynasty's Chang'an city, built by imperial decree of the Li Tang royal family. Today's Daci'en Temple was constructed in the second year of the Ming Dynasty's Chenghua era (1466 AD) on the foundation of the western pagoda courtyard of the Tang Dynasty's Ci'en Temple, with main buildings including: the mountain gate, bell and drum towers, the Mahavira Hall, Dharma Hall, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xuanzang Sanzang Courtyard, Sutra Collection Tower, monks' quarters, etc. Transportation Information: 950 meters walk from the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda subway station (Exit B).