Small Wild Goose Pagoda

Written by Ruru Zhou Updated Aug. 9, 2021

Together with Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Small Wild Goose Pagoda which is a well-preserved ancient construction of the Tang Dynasty is another key landmark in Xi’an. Compared with Big Wild Goose Pagoda, it’s smaller and has a shorter history, so it got the name. Located in the Jianfu Temple, it is a typical dense eaves pagoda.

Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built during the Jinglong period (707-710 A.D.) of the Tang Dynasty. The original tower had 15 stories and was about 46 meters high, however, now it only has 13 stories with a height of 43.4 meters. Small Wild Goose Pagoda is a popular tourist destination in Xi’an city. The morning bell ring in the pagoda had been listed as one of the top 8 attractions in the central Shaanxi plain.

Although Small Wild Goose Pagoda is not as big as the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, its beautiful sceneries and quiet location make it outstanding in ancient Xi’an city. Peaceful surroundings and some constructions elements which are as exquisite as Jiangnan (the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River) style buildings are worth visiting in Small Wild Goose Pagoda.

Features

Small Wild Goose Pagoda is a dense-eave pagoda with brick masonry. The door lintel is prettily engraved with exquisite pictures. And the doorframe is covered with excellent patterns, which adopt fine line carving of the Tang Dynasty. The carvings have high artistic value and reflect the art style of the early Tang Dynasty.

The inside pagoda is an empty cylindrical structure and there are wooden ladders to the top. Travelers can climb Small Wild Goose Pagoda to have a bird view of Xi’an. With more than 1200 years of history, the pagoda has survived dozens of earthquakes. And the original shape has changed into a tapered shape. Due to its beautiful structures, Small Wild Goose Pagoda has influenced brick and stone dense-eave towers in the Tang and Song Dynasties.

Small Wild Goose Pagoda Cultural Temple Fair

Small Wild Goose Pagoda Cultural Temple Fair is annually held in the Jianfu Temple from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival (between Jan.1st and Jan 15th in the Chinese lunar calendar).

Here, travelers can have a wonderful cultural feast of local culture, customs, and actives in Shaanxi Province. During the temple fair, a variety of folk celebrations are held around Small Wild Goose Pagoda including North Shaanxi yangko performances, puppet shows, writing best wishes on the pray wall, and acrobatics performances at high altitude. The ticket fee for the cultural temple fair is 25 CNY per person.

Besides, the cultural temple fair is full of numerous tasty snacks such as Xinjiang barbecue sticks, Guangdong Zhanjiang oysters, Tianjin Goubuli stuffed buns, and Beijing pear juice.