Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Tang-dynasty Buddhist pagoda with nightly musical fountain.
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 08:00-17:00 pagoda
- Ticket
- 50 CNY (park free)
- Suggested visit
- 1-2 hours
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Why it's worth it
The 64-metre brick pagoda from 652 AD that stored the scriptures monk Xuanzang carried back from India on foot — the real Journey to the West. It still leans a few centimetres, still stands in the Da Ci'en Temple grounds, and now anchors the biggest square show in town.
Don't miss
- The pagoda at dusk with the fountain square's music-and-water show in front (free, timed shows)
- Xuanzang's statue on the south square, facing the modern skyline he'd never recognise
- The temple halls' Tang-dynasty stone reliefs, rubbings of which sell for real money
Getting there
Metro Line 3 or 4 to Dayanta station; the north square fountain is the classic approach.
Tips
- Fountain show times shift by season — early evening is safest; claim a railing spot 20 minutes ahead
- Two tickets: square is free, temple and pagoda climb are separate; the climb is narrow and low-ceilinged
- Evening light on the pagoda from the south side is the postcard shot
Photos
More in Xi'an
- Muslim Quarter
Lantern-lit food alleys behind the Drum Tower since the Tang dynasty.
- Terracotta Army
8,000 life-size clay warriors guarding Emperor Qin Shi Huang since 210 BC.
- Xi'an City Wall
Ride a bicycle on the best-preserved Ming city wall in China.
- Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum
Discovered by villager Yang Zhifa while digging a well in 1974, the "Eighth Wonder of the World": Over 6,000 terracotta warriors in the First Pit infantry formation with "a thousand faces, a thousand looks"; the Second Pit features mixed arms formations and kneeling archers and green-faced figures; the Third Pit is the command headquarters; the Bronze Chariot and Horse Museum's First Chariot and Second Chariot are known as the "Crown of Bronze..."
- Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum (Lishan Garden)
The resting place of China's first emperor (built for 38 years, mobilizing 720,000 laborers): The burial mound has not been excavated—legends state it was "filled with mercury to simulate rivers, lakes, and seas" to mimic the terrain, which awaits archaeological verification; pit burials such as the Acrobatics Pit, Civil Official Pit, and Stone Armor Pit display the skills of various trades in the Qin Dynasty.
- Huaqing Palace (Huaqing Pool · Lishan)
The site of King You of Zhou's Liguang Palace and the hot spring palace expanded by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang: The ruins of the Haitang Bath (where Yang Guifei was granted a bath) and the other five sets of imperial bath ruins, such as the Xingchen Bath and the Lotus Bath, are the actual setting for the poetic scene of "Spring Cold, Bathing in Huaqing Pool."