Small Wild Goose Pagoda - A World Cultural Heritage Site along the Silk Road

The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is one of the seven world heritage sites scattered along the Shaanxi segment of the "Roads Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor."

Situated within Jianfu Temple, an imperial temple inside Chang’an City of the Tang Dynasty, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built during the Jinglong period of the Tang Dynasty to store Buddhist scriptures, pictures, and other items brought back from India by Yijing, an eminent Buddhist monk.

The pagoda is square, as viewed from above; it is a 15-level structure of brick construction with no windows or doors between the eaves on any two adjacent levels. The pagoda has been damaged on the 14th and 15th levels; the structure is 43.395 meters high now. With curves that bend naturally to give it a shuttle shape, the pagoda is exquisite and beautiful and deemed part of the splendid Buddhist architectural heritage of the Tang Dynasty. It is one of the landmark buildings that represents the Buddhism’s entry into the Central Plains and merge with culture of Han nationality.