Visited in June 2024. For such a grand serial site, the Silk Road, it's a shame that I only had time to visit one component of it in Xi'an: the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda lives up to its name. It's giant (but doesn't look like a goose) and rises above of all the modern stuff that has been built around it. When you arrive to the district where the pagoda is located you wouldn't believe first that there is a very historical monument somewhere nearby. The district is more like an open-air shopping mall with all the international brands you can think of. But in the middle of it all rises the ancient pagoda, still looking magnificent and mystical despite all the modern entertainment around it.

With small entry fee you can enter the Daci'en Temple area around the pagoda and visiting inside the pagoda is with extra fee. We didn't pay the entry for the pagoda as we were in a rush to catch our train but wanted to see this site before departing Xi'an. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was built in around 648 – 649 during the Tang dynasty and is famous for holding Buddhist sutras and statues that were brought from India. The visit is worthwhile even if you just stroll around the Daci'en Temple area without going inside the pagoda. The temple is very busy with people praying and taking photos. I thought the temple buildings were beautiful and they looked quite recently renovated. There are also some clearly modern structures in the area, too. The pagoda itself looks very ancient even though the current look dates to Ming Dynasty.

The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda is one of the highlights in Xi'an and it's very worthwhile to venture for it bit outside the inner city. I am surprised that this Silk Road WHS doesn't include the Great Mosque of Xi'an which for me was the most interesting place to visit in the city. I hope it will be added later on as an extension or as its own site. The spread of Islam via Silk Road fundamentally changed Central Asia and Eastern China and it would be nice to have representation of that also in Xi'an.