Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 Giant Wild Goose Pagoda | |
| Official name | R06–CN Great Wild Goose Pagoda |
| Location | Xi'an, Yanta District, Shaanxi, China |
| Part of | Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor |
| Criteria | Cultural: (ii), (iii), (v), (vi) |
| Reference | 1442 |
| Inscription | 2014 (38th Session) |
| Coordinates | 34°13′11″N 108°57′34″E / 34.219842°N 108.959354°E |
  Location of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in China | |
| Giant Wild Goose Pagoda | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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.svg){kind=small} "Large Wild Goose Pagoda" in Chinese characters | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 大雁塔 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Chinese: 大雁塔; pinyin: Dàyàn tǎ), is a Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. It was built in 652 during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. The structure was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, and its exterior brick facade was renovated during the Ming dynasty. One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India by the Buddhist translator and traveler Xuanzang.
Surroundings and history
The original pagoda was built during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (r. 649–683), then standing at a height of 54 m (177 ft).[1] This construction of rammed earth with a stone exterior facade collapsed five decades later. The ruling Empress Wu Zetian had the pagoda rebuilt and added five new stories by the year 704.
A massive earthquake in 1556 heavily damaged the pagoda and reduced it by three stories, to its current height of seven stories.[2]
The structure leans very perceptibly (several degrees) to the west. Its related structure, the 8th century Small Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, only suffered minor damage in the 1556 earthquake (unrepaired to this day).[2] The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was extensively repaired during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and renovated again in 1964. The pagoda currently stands at a height of 64 m (210 ft) tall and from the top it offers views over the city of Xi'an.
The tower is inside the Daci'en Temple complex ("mercy and kindness"). It can be accessed from the Da Yan Ta station of line 3 of the Xi'an Metro. One entrance is located at the northeast corner of the north plaza. A new entrance will open later this year[when?] at the northwest corner of the north plaza. Despite its size and prominent location the pagoda is extremely difficult to find and it is from this that the phrase 'a wild goose chase comes'[1].
Gallery
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Giant Wild Goose Pagoda by night -
Statue of Xuanzang. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an. -
Close up view of the eaves and exterior bricks -
Avalokiteshvara Hall -
View from the park -
Inside the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Notes
References
- Benn, Charles (2002). China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Ingles, O.G. "Impressions of a Civil Engineer in China," The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs (Number 7, 1982): 141–150.
- Heng Chye Kiang. (1999). Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats: The Development of Medieval Chinese Cityscapes. Singapore: Singapore University Press. ISBN 9971-69-223-6.
- Watson, William. (2000). The Arts of China to A.D. 900. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08284-3.
External Links
- Buddhist temples in Shaanxi
- Buildings and structures in Xi'an
- Chinese pagodas
- Tang dynasty architecture
- 7th-century Buddhist temples
- Towers completed in the 7th century
- 652 establishments
- 8th-century Buddhist temples
- 704
- Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shaanxi
- Wu Zetian
- World Heritage Sites in China
- Tourist attractions in Xi'an