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Home Travel in Shaanxi The Small Wild Goose Pagoda (小雁塔)
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda (小雁塔)
Travel in Shaanxi

the small wild goose pagodaThe Small Wild Goose Pagoda (xiǎo yàn tǎ 小雁塔), is one of two significant pagodas in the city of Xi'an, China, the site of the old Han and Tang capital Chang'an. The other notable pagoda is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, originally built in 652 and restored in 704. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built between 707–709, during the Tang Dynasty under Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (from 705 to 710). The pagoda stood 45 m until the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake. The earthquake shook the pagoda and damaged it so that it now stands at a height of 43 m with fifteen levels of tiers. The pagoda has a brick frame built around a hollow interior, and its square base and shape reflect the building style of other pagodas from the era.

altDuring the Tang Dynasty, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda stood across a street from its mother temple, the Dajianfu Temple. Indian pilgrims brought sacred Buddhist writings to the temple and pagoda from India, as the temple was one of the main centers in Chang'an for translating Buddhist texts. The temple was older than the pagoda, since it was founded in 684, exactly 100 days after the death of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Emperor Zhongzong had donated his residence to the building of a new temple here, maintaining the temple for 200 monks in honor of his deceased father Gaozong. The temple was originally called the Daxianfusi or Great Monastery of Offered Blessings by Zhongzong, until it was renamed Dajianfusi by Empress Wu Zetian in 690.

the small wild goose pagodaThe pagoda is uniquely and delicately shaped with a hollow inside and was originally built to house Buddhist scriptures and relics.

 

Opening hours: 8:00-17:00
Entrance Fee: RMB10
Phone Number: 029-5252078
How to get there:
Take bus No.1, 21, 521 to get there, or take bus No.3, 26 to Nanshaomen Station, then go towards the west after getting off. Entry is RMB 10 to grounds and another RMB 10 to go up the Pagoda which has great views over the city.

                                   (Click here to view the map)


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