CHINA

XI'AN. SIGHTS OF INTEREST. Great Wild Goose Pagoda
 

Great Wild Goose Pagoda is located 4 kilometers to the south from the center of Xi’an. It’s one of the famous Buddhist Pagodas of China. The pagoda was initially built as a five stored structure by Crown Prince Li Zhi as a memorial to his mother in 652 AD during the Tang Dynasty. It was rebuilt several times and now it’s a seven stored structure of a 64 meters high. Xuanzang, a monk, made a pilgrimage to India in 629 and returned in 645 with many Buddhist scriptures that were translated into Chinese and stored in this pagoda, originally part of a Buddhist temple. The candidates who had passed the highest imperial examinations successfully often visited the pagoda and left their autographs there. There are inscriptions of Emperors of Tang Dynasties on the south door of the pagoda written by famous calligrapher of Tang times Chu Suiliang. 

Little of the original temple complex remains today. Today the grounds are the home of an active artist community. Strolling the grounds you can see many Chinese art works including sculptures, paintings and scrolls. Great Wild Goose Pagoda is a symbol of Xi’an.