Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an – Who Knew?

Day 31, Grand Asia 2017

Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017 –Xi’an, China

I didn’t know there was anything in Xi’an other than the terracotta warriors. Boy was I wrong. The warriors aren’t even in town, but almost an hour away. The “town” has 8 million people. One million of them are students at 50 universities and colleges. It is home to research, development and space exploration facilities.

Xi’an was China’s capital during the Western Zhou, Qin, Western Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, making it one of four ancient Chinese capitals. The city has embraced what I call the “upswept eaves style” of architecture of the Tang dynasty, considered a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. In fact, with 2 million people Xi’an (then called Chang’an) was the largest city in the world at the time.

Xi’an also has one of China’s oldest, largest and best-preserved city walls, stretching more than nine miles around the center of the city. We didn’t have time for that trek, but we did climb the 70-something steps (very even, with a much appreciated handrail) to the top.

We visited the Great Mosque and its walled complex of five courtyards in the city center within the wall. It combines traditional Chinese architecture with Islamic functionality.

To get there, we walked through the Muslim Quarter’s thriving marketplace with its unusual and sometimes unidentified street foods. Then we went single file down narrow winding alleys to the mosque.

Despite our quick pace, I found, bargained for and bought a tiny mah jongg set – the Chinese version without numbers to help me identify the various Chinese calligraphy figures.

Early in the morning, we sat for a demonstration of Chinese writing, calligraphy and painting in one of the buildings surrounding the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The name comes from a legend about a goose that fell with a broken wing at that location.

The pagoda was built in 652 during the Tang dynasty and rebuilt in 704. It leans slightly to the west. Xuanzang built the pagoda to keep the Buddhist materials he collected on his Silk Road journey to India, the cradle of Buddhism.

After a relaxing lunch buffet at a hotel attached to the Xi’an airport, we flew on Cathay Dragon to Hong Kong (again, hot meal in coach). Had we visited Xi’an before Guilin, the flight would have been short. But the schedule gods hadn’t cooperated, so we had flown from Shanghai southwest to Guilin, then northwest to Xi’an and finally south again to Hong Kong. After clearing Hong Kong immigration, another bus and tour guide took over for the 45-minute drive to the pier. I barely slipped into the dining room before the doors closed at 9 p.m.

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A few words about the private tour: After committing to it last summer, I began to have some doubts. With the single supplement, it cost about $2,800 for the four-day overland trip. I thought I could have just gone to China on a trip for that. But I would never have taken on that journey by myself. By joining this trip organized by my travel agency Cruise Specialists, I was part of a group that included a host as well as first-class Abercrombie and Kent tour guides at each stop.

We stayed in five-star hotels, our tours and tickets were included and the group provided little extras, like stamped postcards at each city to send home. When we left Guilin, someone collected our luggage and passports, obtained our boarding passes and checked our bags for us. After we collected our bags at Xi’an, someone else whisked them away to our hotel rooms. I haven’t traveled in a tour group before, and I seldom if ever travel in such luxury, but I can say that having someone take care of every little detail was wonderful. And since I paid for the tour months ago, I’m over that pain.