At the heart of China, bordered by the Yellow River, the Shaanxi province was the centre of the un-unified China. In 1066 BC the Zan dynasty established its capital in Hao near what is now Xi`an (pronounced Sian).
850 years later China was unified by its first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. For over 4000 years Xi’an was the capital of 11 dynasties. By the 9th century Xi’an, then known as Chang’an was the largest and richest city in the world mostly due to its position at the eastern end of the Silk Road.
During the Tang dynasty (618-907), Xi’an’s population was over 1 million. Just to put it into perspective, the population of entire Portugal during the XIV century was 1.5 million.
Xi’an is situated in the centre of China and 1200 km from Beijing. We traveled to Xi’an from Beijing by hi-speed train (300 km/h).
Our friend Karin came with us and held our hands until we were safely at the turnstiles of the train station in Beijing. The train station is huge and if was not for Karin’s help we would have had lots of fun trying to get on the train.
The trip on the train is a breeze. Very comfortable first class seats (with access to a power point…ahahha!!!!) and a smooth ride for approximately 6 hours.
On our arrival, we were met by Mr. Feng (another impeccable package organised by Karin) that was our driver and guide in the 3 days of our stay in Xi’an. Mr. Feng is a delightful man, always with a smile and although he does not speak a word of English, he has an amazing translating application in his mobile that makes the communications very effective and in some cases hilarious.
Xi’an is the only city in China that has its walls intact and our hotel is situated inside of the walled city.
Xi’an now is a huge city (8.5 million inhabitants in 2016) of wide avenues lined with beautiful pine and other trees, impressive buildings and despite the number of vehicles on the road a very organised and “polite” traffic. I have placed some photos to give an idea of the city.
The photos below show various aspects of the city, the Muslim quarters and the Goose Pagoda.
The original Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, was built in 652. It collapsed and was rebuilt in 701-704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian; the present structure is largely the same as it was in the 8th century and is an architectural marvel of China. It was built with layers of bricks without any cement. The exterior brick facade was renovated during the Ming dynasty. The Pagoda used to be three stories taller before the damage caused by the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake.
Seen as an architectural masterpiece of Buddhism of China, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is also called Pagoda of Daci'en Temple because it is located inside of the temple. There are wooden stairs inside the pagoda and one arched window at each of the four sides on every storey, where we can have a panorama view of the surroundings. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is included on the city emblem.
One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India by the Buddhist translator and traveller Xuanzang. We had the opportunity to see a play in the Beijing Opera about the trip Xuanzang made to India. His travels inspired one of the best-known works of Chinese literature, Journey to the West.
We visited the various temples that compose the Daci’en Temple and walked all the way to the top of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The views of the city and the gardens around the temple are beautiful and worth the tough climb to the top.
