When China Called: Xi'an Day Yi Part 3

The Great Wild Goose Pagoda Square. Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

A closeup of the Great Wild
Goose Pagoda. Photo Credit:
Mohamed Hakim

      Following the museum, we proceeded to the Great Wild Goose Pagoda Square. The Pagoda is at the center of a Buddhist temple surrounded by a big park with many Tang Dynasty statues. There are some souvenir shops here, though there will be others if you visit the Muslim Street.

      The main attraction(s) are the fountains on varying steps. Depending on where you find yourself, they look like a path to the pagoda. This is a beautiful spot to take pictures. Just be warned the steps are purely decorative and shouldn’t be climbed on, or you may be inviting unwanted attention from the on-duty officer. Since it was a Tuesday, the greater fountain all the way at the bottom of the steps was off. However, that did not take away from the beauty of the park.

      Note on the word park: it seems like the concept of a park for the Chinese is much different than the way the Americans define the word. For Americans, when we think of a park, we think of grass, dirt, and, probably, a lot of trees. Here however, the square is mostly solid ground with a few concentrated spots of decorative vegetation, much like what is seen, sometimes, in front of commercial buildings in the US, or parking lots in shopping malls.

      The statues here are an interesting attraction too. There is a statue of a famous historical figure in poetry, a figure of an individual practicing martial arts, and quite a few figures for Tang Era musicians.

A view of the surrounding fountains. Photo Credit: Mohamed Hakim

      I’m told, the Tang Dynasty in Chinese history, is considered a peak cultural period, much like the golden age of Islam, or the more romanticized Italian Renaissance. Many gold and silver crafts uncovered by archeologists date back to this period. To this day the songs of the Tang are celebrated in opera houses.

            To be continued...

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You can find the previous post in the series at: When China Called: Dining Part 3