Big Wild Goose Pagoda Xian China

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, is located in southern Xian China. The pagoda was built in 589 AD in the Sui Dynasty and was named Wulou Temple.

In 648 AD, crown prince Li Zhi of the Tang Dynasty, in order to commemorate his mother, Empress Wende, for her maternal love, sponsored a repair project on the temple. it was then renamed to its now present name of Dacien si (the Temple of thanksgiving).

The Pagoda back then had five stories. in 701 to 704AD the pagoda was reconstructed to ten stories.

Sadly, wars and turmoil again damaged the pagoda reducing its height to current seven stories. The big wild goose pagoda originally was built to store the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought back from India by a great monk named Xuanzang. Xuanzang was both a great translator and traveler.

This temple was the largest one in the Tang Dynasty. It consisted of the 13 yards and covered an area of 243,000 square meters and 1,897 magnificent rooms with various styles and patterns.

The pagoda is an architectural marvel and was built with layers of bricks but without any cement in between. The pagoda stands as a monument of Xian China by its towering height, structural compactness, imposing appearance and unaffected style.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda now stands 64 meters tall and from the top and it offers a great view over the city of Xian China.