The pagoda was built in 707 under the Tang, in the grounds of Jianfu Temple, a monastery that had been established for the repose of Emperor Taizong's consort. It was a working Buddhist monument for centuries before the temple complex fell into decline, and it is one of the few Tang structures in China to survive largely intact in shape.
The pagoda
It is a square brick tower of fifteen diminishing storeys, about forty-three meters tall, with simple arched niches on each face. There are no carved eaves or elaborate brackets; the form is restrained compared with later pagodas, and that plainness is exactly what makes it a good example of Tang design. A 1556 earthquake split the top of the tower, and the crack famously closed again in a later quake without the tower collapsing.
The museum
Beneath the grounds, the Xi'an Museum presents the city's archaeological history in a modern building with a glass roof and a sunken courtyard. The collections run from Western Zhou bronzes through Han and Tang tomb figures, Buddhist sculpture and Tang-dynasty silver. The scale is manageable; two hours covers the highlights without fatigue.
Visiting notes
The site is south of the old city center, a short taxi ride from the Bell Tower and easy to combine with the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is far less crowded than the Shaanxi History Museum, which makes it a good option when that museum's booking slots are full. A small drum performance is staged most days in the grounds and is worth timing your visit around. Allow two hours for the pagoda and the museum together.
