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Traveler Reviews

The Small White Goose Pagoda: a haven of peace on a busy work day morning
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Apr 21, 2007


I stayed in Xi'an for 2 nights with a guided tour from the UK. Our first port of call on the full day in Xi'an was to the Small White Goose Pagoda. Xi'an seems to be a bustling very noisy city which is being re-built day and night. As we drove through Xi'an the noise of traffic during the rush hour was as noisy as any we'd seen elsewhere. Suddenly we turned into a quiet roadway and there was the gateway to the temple. Suddenly there was no traffic noise, not even aircraft overhead. Immediately we felt calm in ourselves and enjoyed walking through the area from the coach/car park to the Small White Goose Pagoda. We saw groups of people exercising but at no time did we ever hear anyone shouting instructions to the group. These were groups of elderly people. There were apparently also groups learning to sing - unfortunately I didn't hear any of those. I don't think the pagoda itself is open to the public. On first view its not all that preppossessing but walking past it and looking back so that you see it rising above the adjoining temple buildings gives it a feeling of empowerment. One has to pay to bang the Xi'an Drum in the grounds. It is also forbidden to take photos of the orchestra playing in a nearby building. There *is* a notice telling you this but I honestly didn't see it and as my friends could see I was so desperate to take a photo they suggested I ask the players who were resting between pieces. They allowed me to take photos as they continued to play. There are several exhibitions going on in adjoining buildings. Carvings of intricate design from *one* piece of wood, painting, an exhibition of Chinese Matchbox Labels. This looked as if it were a permanent exhibition with a sign outside. Inside the gift shop (I don't know if there's more than one of these) there is an exhibition showing the N. China 'kang' heating system. Almost any fictional story on China featuring N. China, as well as most of the traveller's tales from any point in history mentions the 'kang'. Without it there would not be a village population. An amazing piece of work and I was thrilled to see one: albeit only as a model. Look out for the man sellling traditional music CDs. I missed him completely as he'd moved his pitch. If you fail to find him, go to the North Gate of the City Wall and go up onto the wall. Somewhere nearby is a shop selling this type of music. Can't tell you where : my guide did it for me as I couldn't climb the steps sufficiently well. Lousy sense of balance due to poor sight. Should have taken a hill walking stick with me for support but relied on my fellow travellers for an arm over the inevitable rough ground everywhere in China.