Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Chinese: , Dàyàn tǎ) is a seven-storey Buddhist pagoda in the Daci'en Temple complex in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It was first built in 652, when Xi'an was the Tang capital Chang'an, under the direction of the monk and translator Xuanzang. The original five-storey structure was rebuilt during the reign of Wu Zetian and repaired in later dynasties; the present brick exterior reflects major work carried out during the Ming dynasty. The pagoda was built to store Buddhist scriptures and images that Xuanzang brought from India. Its association with Xuanzang and the translation work at Daci'en Temple makes it evidence of the transmission of Buddhism and texts between South, Central, and East Asia during the Tang period. Stone tablets by the south entrance bear texts composed by Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong and written by the calligrapher Chu Suiliang. The Tang custom of successful examination candidates inscribing their names at the temple also produced the phrase "inscription at the Wild Goose Pagoda" for success in the imperial examinations. The pagoda was inscribed in 2014 as a component of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor. The temple grounds and pagoda are open to visitors, with the surviving tower, inscriptions, and surrounding complex presenting the reli

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