The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was presided over by the Xuan Zang Master. Although it has been vicissitudes for thousands of years, it is still intact. It is one of the famous Buddhist pagodas in China, and it is also a unique symbol of the ancient city of Xi’an. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a pavilion-style brick tower. The tower body is made of bricks with a square cone with a staircase spiraling up. There is a vault door in each side of each floor, and the view of Chang’an is unobstructed. On the two sides of the south gate of the pagoda, the “Da Tang Sanzang Holy Preface” monument was set by Xuanzang during the Tang Emperor’s reign, and they are well preserved. It is worth mentioning that the Tang Dynasty painters Wu Daozi and Wang Wei had made many murals for the Ci’en Temple, but unfortunately, they were already disappeared in history. However, on the stone door sills and door frames of the four-door cave under the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is still a beautiful Tang Dynasty line depiction.
Official telephone number of Big Wild Goose Pagoda: 029-85521890
Time visiting for reference: less than 1 hour
Transportation: Take busses such as 5, 19, 224, 237, 500, 501, 521, 526, 527, 601, 606, 609, Tour 4, Tour 6, Tour 8 (610), and Tour 9 (320) buses and get off at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda station.
Tickets: 50 Yuan for the Great Ci’en Temple, 30 Yuan for the Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Opening hours: 08:00-17:00 during Monday to Sunday
As the earliest and largest Tang Dynasty square brick tower, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a typical form of the ancient Indian Buddhist temple, which was introduced into the Central Plains with Buddhism and integrated into the Chinese culture. It is the landmark building combining the wisdom of the ancient Chinese laboring people.
If you go to Xi’an for the first time, you can still go and see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, but before you go there, just understand the history and culture in advance. The ginkgo around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is beautiful in autumn.