The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, located in the southern suburb of Xi`an City, is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. What in front of it is a new square. It has been listed as a National Key Cultural Relic Preserve as well as an AAAA Tourist Attraction.

Three parts consists this attraction: the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Da Ci'en Temple and the North Square of Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Li Zhi had built the Temple of Great Mercy and Goodness in 648 A .D in honor of his mother. It is said one day, a big wild goose had got lost and drop down in the Temple, and monks regard it was the avatar of Bodhisattva, so added a temple named Big Wild Goose Pagoda to preserve the manuscripts of Buddhist texts that Xuan Zang had taken from India to translate into Chinese. Today, with an area of 32,314 square meters, one seventh of the original area, it still retains its grandeur.

Before the temple, there stands a statue of hierarch Xuanzang, the meritorious hierarch. Walking on and across a small bridge, visitors will see the gates of the temple. With guarding lions, the temple seems stately for lions were said to function as talismans.

First built to a height of 60 meters with five stories, it is now 64.5 metershigh with an additional two stories. It was said that after that addition came the saying-'Saving a life exceeds building a seven-storied pagoda'. Externally it looks like a square cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction. Built of brick, its structure is very firm. Inside the pagoda, stairs twist up so that visitors can climb and overlook the panorama of Xian City from the arch-shaped doors on four sides of each storey. On the walls are engraved fine statues of Buddha by the renowned artist Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. Steles by noted calligraphers also grace the pagoda.

As one of the most impressive landmarks of Xi`an, it has been attracting numerous visitors from home and abroad since its establishment for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of construction and its new square in front of the temple.