Xi'an, May 16: Greater Wild Goose Pagoda and Ci'en Monastery

The (Buddhist) Ci’en Monastery was first built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618). The Tang Dynasty monk Xuanzang (aka Tripitaka) became its abbot upon return from India with sutras (scriptures) after an arduous journey of 18 years, famously described in the allegorical folk novel The Journey to the West. The pagoda (Dayan Ta) was added in 652 to house and protect the sutras as they were being translated under Xuanzang’s supervision. It is 210 feet tall, and leaning somewhat. In the Tang Dynasty Xi’an’s city walls enclosed a larger area than today, and the monastery and pagoda were within the walls. The monastery still operates today, and we witnessed some of the monks’ religious services while visiting (below).

Ci'en Monastery Temple