After lunch at the Muslim Quarter, we took a taxi to a museum. I cant recall which museum that Ben wanted to visit. However, when we reached the museum, we found out that the museum is closed on Monday. I kind of wonder if the taxi driver knows about the closure on Monday.

Since our plan did not work out, Ben studied the city map that we had with us and found that the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is within walkable distance. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located in a very nice park.

The Big Wild Goose Pagod was built in 652 in the Tang Dynasty. It was built to store Buddhist materials that were collected from India by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. He travelled from Changán (the anxient Xian) to India along the Silk Road.

Unfortunately, it was a very hazy day. The pagoda in the background was barely visible. The original Big Wild Goose Pagoda was a 5 stories pagoda which stood 60 meters. It was destroyed in an earth quake and it had been restored and renovated. It is now 64.5 meters high with 7 stories.

There is a series of fountains leading to the pagoda. It is one of the largest musical fountain in Asia. Regretfully, we did not make a return trip to watch the musical fountain at night.

A beautifully carved wall along a moat.

It is almost impossible to get a good photo of the pagoda in the haziness.

The best shot of the pagoda. We decided to retire for the day due to the bad air quality.