How to Plan an International Trip: Travel Tales and Tips : China Trip Report Day 7: Xi'an: Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Day 7, March 22, 2018, Thursday:

We had to catch the 8.44 train from Pingyao to Xi'an north. The train was coming in from Taiyuan and our tickets had been bought from there by china diy site. Our hotel had arranged a taxi to the station and started off by 8 am. a 10 minute ride to the station. Then got into the train and had a 3 hour trip to Xi'an.

Xian north station is organized like airport with regulated taxi lines and we got ours . Gave the driver the printed address and reached the hotel after a short episode of being rear ended.. 58 CNY.

Grand Soluxe Hotel:

We reached our hotel, Grand Soluxe right near the metro station and the main train station.
Street view here:

http://map.qq.com/#pano=10161032150427134314700&heading=92&pitch=-14&zoom=1

Lovely lobby with koi fish pond and the works, rooms were ordinary decor but quite comfy..

Called Chang'an (meaning the eternal city) in ancient times, Xi'an is the birthplaces of the ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Basin area. Xi'an was the capital city of 13 imperial dynasties, the most for any city, and many ancient structures are preserved. "The First Emperor" united China from his base in the Xi'an area, and he has left a mighty legacy.

The Ming Dynasty revitalized the city in the 14th century, with a new wall built around the perimeter. This period also saw the city renamed Xi’an, or “Western Peace.” The eastern terminal of the Silk Road and the site of the famous Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, the city has 3,000 years of history including over 1,100 years as the capital city of ancient dynasties.

This is the metro map. Our hotel was a short walk from Wulukou station.

We made our way to the North square of the Wild goose pagoda.

Shadow Puppeteers

Big Wild Goose Pagoda 大雁塔 (Dayan Pagoda) 8-17;

Entrance Fee of Da Ci'en Temple: CNY 50
Ascending the Pagoda: CNY 30

Take Metro Line 3 to Dayanta Station directly.
4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the downtown of the city. Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Big Wild Goose Pagoda functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the monk Xuanzang.

First built to a height of 60 meters (197 feet) with five storeys, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is now 64.5 meters (211.6 feet) high with an additional two storeys.

Entering the temple we see two buildings - Bell Tower in the east and Drum Tower in the west. Along the central axis are arranged the Hall of Mahavira, Sermon Hall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Hall of Xuanzang Sanzang.

AWESOME JADE carving All round on the walls!

When we climb up we get to see relics and then a glorious view

Monk Xuanzang started off from Chang'an (the ancient Xian), along the Silk Road and through deserts, finally arriving in India, the cradle of Buddhism. Enduring 17 years and traversing 100 countries, he obtained Buddha figures, 657 kinds of sutras, and several Buddha relics. Having gotten the permission of Emperor Gaozong (628-683), Xuanzang, as the first abbot of Da Ci'en Temple, supervised the building of a pagoda inside it. With the support of royalty, he invited 50 hierarchs into the temple to translate Sanskrit sutras into Chinese, totaling 1,335 volumes.

This is his statue