Our first major stop on our first full day in Xian was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It may not have been that spectacular but I really loved the name. It is alternately called the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Somehow, the name really appealed to me.

It is a Buddhist pagoda in southern Xian that was first built in 652 during the Tang dynasty. It was originally five stories. It was rebuilt in 704 and later renovated during the Ming dynasty. The tower sits inside the Daci’en Temple complex which was built in 648 to honor Empress Zhangsun. The upgrade on the tower took it from five stores to ten stories but a massive earthquake in 1556 knocked off three stories. Today the tower has seven stories and is 210 feet tall. The tower also leans a bit.

There were many more things to see at the pagoda complex. Some of the buildings were very impressive, both outside and inside as you can see in the next three photos.

I’ve included the last photo just to show that spring was further along in Xian than in Beijing. I believe that these were Magnolia trees. The pagoda grounds were quite nice.