Brief Introduction: Located in Da Ci'en Temple (the Temple of Thanksgiving),about 4km south from the urban center of Xi'an, the big wild goose pagoda is one of the famous Buddhist pagodas in China. In 1961, the state council announced it as the national key cultural relics protection unit at the first batch . In 2014 the pagoda was included into the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

Da Ci'en Temple was built in 648 AD during the period the Emperor Li Zhi ,the third emperor of the Tang dynasty  ( 618-906AD),then still a crown prince, in memory of his mother, Empress Wende. It was said that the emperor paid homage to the temple twice a day (in the morning and at dusk) by looking in its direction from the Hanyuan Palace. The Tang Regime gave orders to build a chamber for the translation of Buddhist scriptures and appointed the widely renowned Master Xuan Zang (Monk Tripitaka) the head of the temple. However, it went into gradual decay after the downfall of the Tang Dynasty. The halls and rooms survived the ages were actually rebuilt in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

In 652 AD ,Xuan Zang proposed to the government to build a pagoda inside the temple to store the scriptures and statues he had brought back from India. The Empero ragreed with him pleasantly , and raised funds by selling the things left behind by deceased palace maids . Master Xuan Zang was so pleased that he designed the pagoda and even moved stones and bricks to the construction site.

Xuan Zang stayed in Ci'en Temple for 12 years. He translated 75 sets, totally 1,335 volumes of Buddhism scriptures. Emperor Tai Zong wrote an introduction to the Sacred Teachings of Monk Xuan Zang of the Great Tang Dynasty followed by the Crown Prince Li Zhi's Notes . The two tablets bearing the two texts in the hand-writing of Chu Suiliang, the great Tang Calligraphier, are still on both sides of the south gate of the first floor of the Pagoda.

The construction and feature of the pagoda

The big wild goose pagoda has seven stories with a height of 64.5 meters , and was constructed in brick and wood structure in 652 AD. The storeyed pagoda is an architectural marvel. It was built with layers of bricks without any cement. The bracket style used in traditional Chinese architecture was also used in the construction of the pagoda. The seams between each layer of bricks and the "prisms" on each side of the pagoda are clearly visible. The grand body of the pagoda with its solemn appearance, simple style and high structure, is indeed a good example of Chinese traditional architecture.

The story of its name’s origin

Here is an interesting story about the name of the pagoda. It is said that Master Xuan Zang once stayed in a temple in India. One day, monks in the temple were just worrying about the shortage of meat. It happened to be the General Alms Day of the Buddha. A monk looked up at the sky and sighed,"Our beloved Bodhisattva, the Great and Merciful, will not forget what day it is today!" By these words, a flock of wild geese flew over the temple.The head goose dropped dead to the ground. This puzzled all the monks, and they concluded that this must be the result of the Bodhisattva’s spirit at work, providing them with the wild goose. Ever since then, the monks of the temple became vegetarians. They also set up a pagoda where the wild goose dropped dead, and called it the Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda that greets us today was actually modeled after its Indian prototype given the same name. After about half a century, another pagoda was built at Jianfu Temple. The two pagodas face each other over a distance, and assume different styles. Because the one in Jianfu Temple is smaller than the Wild Goose Pagoda, it is often called the small wild goose pagoda, and the Wild Goose Pagoda in Da Ci'en Temple is the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

What else to see--- Music Fountain at Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square

Covering about 110,000 square meters, the music fountain in the North Square of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is the biggest one in Asia.The Fountain and Music Show has the most benches, the longest light-belt, and the largest-scale acoustic complex in the world.

Generally, the fountain contains 1360 sets of pumps, 1124 sets of transducers, 3300 sets of lampion and more than 2,000 sets of nozzles in all. Besides, it equips with high technological lighting system and professional audio systems.

The most amazing feature is that the sound, the light, the water and the color of the fountain are harmoniously combined.

The Level: AAAAA touristsattraction ; World Heritage List

Admission fee: 50 yuan RMB (Climbing the pagoda costs 40 yuanRMBextra)

Opening Time: 8:00 a.m.—5:00 p.m.

Visiting Time Normally: 1-2 hrs

Better Season to Visit: all seasons

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