Chinese Architecture in Chang'an
(Xi'an)
Tang (618-907). In Han and Tang dynasties, Xi'an is called Chang'an.
On the “Muslim Street” in the great Chinese city of Xian stands a bronze tableau in honor of street food. There, on a crowded lane packed with stalls selling Islamic-Chinese cuisine — lamb dumplings, mutton soup, pancakes and mung bean noodles — tourists can pose with statues of a soup seller and his customers. It’s a photo opportunity that brings together Xian’s two most famous tourist drawing cards: life-size human replicas and my grandmother's amazing dumplings.
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Xian Drum Tower (Gu Lou)
The Drum Tower is a combination of the styles of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Qing Dynasty. However, it also has some innovative features. For example, it should be mentioned that there is no iron nail used anywhere in the Tower Visitors can go upstairs to the second floor, and enjoy the views around the Drum Tower. You will notice that there are twenty-four drums in its north and south sides. They stand for the Twenty-four Solar Terms which is a kind of weather calendar created by the Chinese ancients in order to guide the agricultural production.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda
As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayan Pagoda) is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang. Externally it looks like a square cone, simple but grand and it is a masterpiece of Buddhist construction.
Old Legend
As for the reason why it is called Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is a legend. According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn't find meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: 'Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some.' At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. They established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat. Hence its name.