Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Official name	R06–CN Great Wild Goose Pagoda
Location	Xi'an, Yanta District, Shaanxi, China
Part of	Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (iii), (v), (vi)
Reference	1442
Inscription	2014 (38th Session)
Coordinates	34°13′11″N 108°57′34″E / 34.219842°N 108.959354°E / 34.219842; 108.959354
Location of Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in China

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
"Large Wild Goose Pagoda" in Chinese characters
Chinese	大雁塔
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dàyàn tǎ IPA [tâ jɛ̂n tʰà] Wu Suzhounese Dâ-iě thaeh Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Daaih-ngaahn taap Jyutping Daai6-ngaan6 taap3 IPA [taːi˨ ŋaːn˨ tʰaːp̚˧] Southern Min Tâi-lô Tuā-gān thah

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Chinese: 大雁塔; pinyin: Dàyàn tǎ, lit. 'big swan goose pagoda'), is a monumental Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It was built in c. 648 – c. 649 during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. It was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and its exterior brick façade was renovated during the Ming dynasty.

One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of Gautama Buddha that were brought to China from India by the seventh-century Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator Xuanzang. Today, the interior walls of the pagoda feature engraved statues of Buddha by the renowned 7th-century artist Yan Liben.

This pagoda was added to the World Heritage List, along with many other sites along the Silk Road, as part of the "Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor" site in 2014.