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Large Wild Goose Pagoda Temple Gate
This is the main gate to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Temple.Xian's Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Xian in China's Shaanxi Province is famous for its terracotta warriors, but it has many more things to offer as well. Two of Xian's many ancient sites, are the two wild goose pagodas, the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas respectively. I got a chance to visit both of them.
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 648AD, is set in the middle of a large temple complex. The pagoda has seven floors and visitors are allowed to climb it. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built to house the Buddhist sutras brought to China from India by the monk Xuan Zhang.
The temple has many beautiful gardens, and stunning buildings. The buildings in the temple complex are built in the style of the Tang Dynasty.
The day we went to visit the temple, it was extremeley hot, and sunny, but it did little to distract us from the beauty of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Temple. It was a really neat place, and fortunantely it had many trees, so there was an abundance of shade. Being one of Xian's hottest sites, the temple was quite crowded, but since it The Big Goose Wild Pagoda
This is the Big Goose Wild Pagoda seen from a distance. I is very large and quite impressive. is so large, it is still possible to find little corners without people.
The temple complex is set up along an axis, with matching buildings on either side. The buildings were quite beautiful. They were mostly made of grey brick with glazed roofs. The temple houses a number of coffee shops, book stores, and shops, which I wasn't too fond of, but other than that, the temple is wonderful. There is a huge complex for the monks to live in, and the gardens hidden among the temple's many courtyards were very lovely. There are a lot of ancient artifacts hidden throughout the temple. In one area there is a forest of stupas, which are graves for prominent monks. They were very beautiful. Most of them are quite old. We spent a lot of time leisurely strolling, and relaxing in the temple. It was a beautiful spot. The ancient pagoda was stunning. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is very dainty in its style, but the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is not. It is very solidly built and strong in design. They are two very different pagodas. I sadly did not go inside the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This is
Bell Tower at the Big Goose Wild Pagoda
This is the Big Goose Wild Pagoda\'s bell tower. It is typical of the architectural style of the temple complex. something I will have to remedy next time I go to Xian.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again here. There is so much more to Xian than just the terracotta warriors. This ancient city is really amazing and has so much to offer. Sadly it is all overshadowed by the warriors. If you ever get a chance to go, spend a couple days there. You'll be very glad you did!
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Jon
non-member comment
Nice
Thats funny! I took a picture of that Stop Walking sign too!