Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayanta) Xi'an

So it's been a while!

And I have been very, very, very busy like I promised! Since I last updated this blog I have climbed the Great Wall (and got the t-shirt!), visited the Ming Tombs, the Terracotta Army, some imperial hot springs, the Banpo Neolithic village remains, the Muslim Quarter of Xi’an, Xi’an’s Drum Tower and …

Desde Beijing, tomamos el tren nocturno hacia Xian, la tierra de los guerreros de terracota. El tren estuvo bien, ya que nos esperábamos algo menos moderno, pero nos sorprendió. La estación de tren era gigantesca, como casi todas las construcciones y la sala de espera...aún mayor...Afortunadamente la persona que nos vendió los tickets nos explicó …

Spring festival is the longest festival in the Chinese calendar and runs for 15 days, a pretty impressive effort.

I had heard that there was an amazing lantern display at Dayanta Pagoda, so set off on Thursday night to try and see it.

Traffic was manic around the area, but eventually I found my friend among all the people & we …

Friday was time to start exploring a little closer to home, so it was off to Dayanta, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

This area is possibly my favourite part of Xi'an, as I love the long sculpture walk and the whole setting of the Pagoda and fountains and restaurants etc.

After a leisurely mooch along Yanta Lu we got to the fountain in …

When I developed my itinerary before I left, my plan for today was to visit a place called Hua Shan Mountain, one of the five sacred peaks of Taoism, offering some of the most dangerous hiking and sublime views in the world. You can imagine my disappointment when I realized that even if I could've made the summit today, I would be facing subzero …

Rise and shine- Let's get some exercise! We head to the city wall. This nine mile rectangular wall, built 600 years ago, divides the inner and outer city of Xi'an and is a popular bike riding trail for tourists. We play a group of tourists on TV so we strap on our helmets and start cruising.
There's not much to see. On the inside of the wall …

Xi'an was very interesting. We went to see the Terra Cotta warriors. Most of the warriors were broken from ancient time. Some of them were getting fixed right in front of me. Our hotel was not great and it was impossible to find a taxi! Finally when we did find a taxi, we accidentally left our backpack inside. We took our first rickshaw, it was …

After a really ****** nights sleep we finally arrive in xi'an and are greeted by our very helpful hostel manager, he helped us to book our next train ticket.. He also had to pick up someone else so we sat and waited in chinas own fast food restaurant dico's and had chips for breakfast?!! When he returned with his other passenger (he was extremely …

The transition from Nepal to China was a blunt one. We caught an overnight flight with a 5am transfer into Xi'an, a city in central China which has been the cultural capital for centuries before a relatively recent move of politics to Beijing. It’s one of the oldest cities in China (over 3000 years of history!) and after spending 2 weeks …

So Xi'an has been really fun. My time here was pretty much a combination of seeing the city and forming more of a base for the eventual research (the three weeks of
life-is-nothing-but-research-and-sleep starts after the Xi'an-China introduction). Well, here is a
recap of the days in Xi'an. Didn't do too much when we first got
here …

... take in the views of the exterior rather than the interior (PICS).     That evening we took a local bus to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda; a seven-storey pagoda that comes to life at night. There is a light and fountain show every night and the ...

... we had eaten enough） Was all very tasty， though the bus ride home wasn't too fun。We also saw the big wild goose pagoda here today, where they hold a rather impressive water show for about 20 mins in front of it at midday (no wonder ...

... Yang symbols, and was a very peaceful and serene place among the bustling big city. That night, we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Fountain Show. It didn't quite rival Disneyland's new World of Color (equipped with film projections from favorite ...

... you of one of those school girls in a Britney Spears video.  The next day we squeezed in a visit to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a temple built in 652 AD to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by the monk Xuan Zang. He spent the ...

... silhouet. Utroligt at det kunne lade sig gore men det endte faktisk me at blive ret virkeligt! Et sidste stop paa turen var The Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Alt i alt en rigtig god dag. Og vi var begge enige om at det var rart endelig at faa set noget! Om ...

... an. We’re in a minivan with a female tour guide and two other passengers. We drive around Xi’an to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, a seven-story Buddhist pagoda built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty.  The grounds surrounding this pagoda ...

... , but I can't even read current Chinese, so ancient Chinese was well beyond my ken. Next. We made a quick stop at the Big Wild Goose pagoda and the adjacent Buddhist temple but, because we were on a schedule, the pagoda got only a smile and a ...

... , the Drum Topwer, the Muslim Quarter - lots of street food, a tour of course to the Terracotta Warriors but also the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Bempo Neolithic Village.  All good.  We even bought some warriors.  Too heavy to carry so ...

... Bustling at nighttime and more tranquil during the day.  Nearby we stopped in the Great Mosque which was interesting too. Big Wild Goose Pagoda - Interesting to see... nice to relax in the surrounding parks.  As a Buddist monument, it is quite ...

... pour de l'argent et ejutter des raisins intensemment. Alors hier etait une bonne journee remplie aussi. On est aller a la Big Wild Goose Pagoda. La c'etait bouddhiste extreme. Les gens achetaient des gros batons d'enscens, les brulaient vifs et les ...