Phot-o' the Day: Selfie-taking at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an, China

Today's Phot-o' the Day comes from Xi'an in the People's Republic of China. This is the selfie-photo-taking spot in from of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an. This is one of two Wild Goose Pagodas in the old imperial capital. This is the Giant, which I believe is shorter than the Small Wild Goose Pavilion several miles away.

Xi'an is an old imperial capital in China. That's why the famous Terra Cotta Army is here, just on the outskirts of town. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was built in the 600 or 700's A.D. By the time the A.D. year-numbering was approaching four digits, Xi'an's star was eclipsed by points north and northeast. But, thanks to all the old treasures -- not just the Terra Cotta Army -- it's an absolute must-see if visiting the P.R.C.

(And, yes, I prefer the traditional Anno Domini to the unsightly new P.C. "C.E.," or "Common Era," which its proponents cannot explain what is "common" in the "common era" without reference to what kicks off the A.D. series of year-numberings.)

I Will Not Make Obvious "Wild Goose Chase" References at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

Incense burner (foreground), Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (background)

I will not make the obvious, cliched "joke" references to being on a "wild goose chase" just because I am at Xi'an's Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.  My humor is too sophisticated for that.

The Giant Wild Goose Pavilion is a short walk from the Shaanxi History Museum.

But not on that side of the road.  This side of the road:

The statue is of the Buddhist monk who was appointed by the Tang Dynasty emperor to go to India to bring back copies of the Buddhist sacred texts for use in Buddhist China.

He is, of course, a popular photo spot.

Knock and it shall be open to you:

Wrong religion, sorry.

Actually, you don't need to knock.  You buy a ticket and enter through a colorful gate.

Just like every other tourist attraction we've seen so far.  And soon you are on the grounds of the Giant Wild Goose Pavilion:

There is of course a drum tower to the left.

And a bell tower to the right:

A fire pit to burn the incense sticks:

And the star of the show, a giant golden Buddha.  This Buddha is covered in gold leaf, not just gold paint.

And another Buddha.

You can't have too many Buddha.

The Giant Wild Goose Pavilion is not as "giant" as it once was.  It was built in the 600s by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty.  But a massive earthquake in 1556 knocked three stories off the top of the structure, reducing it to its current seven stories.

There is a meditation garden for the Buddhist monks.

And a fat laughing Buddha,

Our tour guide said I looked just like the fat, laughing Buddha.  The nerve!  I may have a gut, but I don't have man-boobs.  Yet.

This was our guide, Won, who made the comment, doing some calligraphy for us.

After exiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, we walked through a nearby park.

With statuary!  These are "ethnical" musicians.

More "ethnicals," I presume.

The walk was not too crowded.  Xi'an, again, is just a small village of a mere six million souls.  Twelve million metropolitan.

The backside of the pagoda.  This was supposed to be an artsy photo of fountain water, but the fountain waters were not cooperating.

They cooperated more with this picture of a child enjoying his bubble-making.

This is a statue of a famous drunken Chinese poet Li Bai, from the 700s.  He drank himself to death.

Edgar Allen Poe.  Charles Bukowsky.  Dylan Thomas.  Jim Morrison.  All would be proud.

Last shot of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, with the fountain waters being more cooperative.  Tomorrow is the big reason for the whole trip:  the Terra Cotta Army.