Xi’an is a lovely city, probably my favorite so far. We saw one of the real highlights of the city yesterday morning when we visited the Wild Goose Pagoda, a famous Buddhist shrine and one of the largest pagodas in the world. We heard a long story about its history from Xiao Fei. It was built some 1300 years ago by a monk who is credited with bringing Buddhism to China. The Emperor at the time, I want to say it was the Tang Dynasty, agreed to build it as a memorial to his dead wife. Here is a group shot of all of us standing in front of it.
We saw all kinds of magnificent Buddhist shrines surrounding the pagoda. It was quite peaceful. Many of the shrines were recently built, which gave them less historic charm but more polish and beauty. When we got to the bottom of the pagoda, we found out that you can walk up to the top. Most of the group did not want to bother, despite being assured that it was a far, far easier climb than the recent one we took to the top of the Potala Palace in Tibet. Still, 5 of us braved the 260+ steps to the top of this 7 story building – Lori, Lori, Ann, Kathy, and me. I got a pic of the ladies on the stairs about halfway up the climb.
It was quite beautiful at the top – great views all across the city of Xi’an. Here is my favorite shot –
Next stop, the Terra Cotta Warriors!
Note: Internet connection remains a huge problem, which is my posting is massively delayed at this point.
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