Day By Day

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Return to China -- Part 11, Wild Geese and Dumplings

Our next stop in Xi'an was the famous Wild Goose Pagoda and the Buddhist monastery within which it is located. The pagoda was first built fourteen centuries ago to house Buddhist materials brought to China by the famed monk and traveler, Xuanzang. It has undergone a number of reconstructions since then, most recently in 1964. 


The pagoda leans noticeably, but there is no danger of it collapsing.


The entrance to the main shrine.


Closer,


Even closer -- joss sticks burning.


Inside the main shrine. There were a number of other, smaller shrines within the grounds of the monastery. For pictures of some of them go here.


 Architectural detail.


It was hot so we sat in the shade while Rose explained our surroundings and schedule. Then it was off to rest up for our next destination -- dumpling dinner and a show.


The highpoint of a visit to Xi'an is the Tang dynasty show. It follows a delicious dinner the main feature of which is dumplings, many of which are shaped like the meat or vegetables with which they are stuffed. These four dumplings are filled with chicken, pork, fish, and vegetables. All were extremely scrumptious.


 A flock of duck dumplings ready to be eaten. Yum!

And now for the show....

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