China Guide
The Yellow River
The Dacien Si: Big Goose Pagoda
Opening time: Daily 8am–6.30pm
Price: Dacien Si ¥25; Big Goose Pagoda ¥20
Address: 4km from the city walls at the end of Yanta Lu
The Dacien Si is the largest temple in Xi'an. The original, destroyed in 907, was even bigger: founded in 647, it had nearly two thousand rooms, and a resident population of more than three hundred monks. The surrounding area is a bit of a circus nowadays, with the armies of souvenir sellers dwarfed by a crowd-pulling musical fountain, arranged in steps, which fills the northern approach to the temple. The main entrance, however, is to the south, and once inside the walls the atmosphere is much calmer, though still oriented towards tourism rather than worship, even though there are resident monks here.
The most famous person associated with the temple is Xuan Zang, the Tang monk who made a pilgrimage to India and returned with a trove of sacred Buddhist texts. At his request, the Dayan Ta, or Big Goose Pagoda was built of brick at the centre of the temple as a fireproof store for his precious sutras. More impressive than its little brother, the Big Goose Pagoda is sturdy and angular, square in plan, and more than 60m tall. As you go in, look for a famous tablet on the right showing Xuan Zang dwarfed by his massive bamboo backpack, rubbings of which are sold all over the city. At either side of the south entrance, stone tablets hold calligraphy by two Tang emperors, surrounded by bas-relief dragons and flying angels; over the lintel of the west door is a fine Tang carving of Buddha and his disciples sitting in a Chinese building. The pagoda has seven storeys, each with large windows (out of which visitors throw money for luck). The view from the north windows is the most impressive for the rigorous geometry of the streets below, though it's hard to believe that when built the temple was at least 3km inside the Tang city.