Da Ci En Temple 大慈恩寺
You must first pay to enter “Da Ci En Temple” before you can reach the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Adults’ fees were at RMB$25 each and children’s fees were RMB$12.50 each. If you want to climb up the pagoda, you need to pay entrance fee (RMB$25 each). Climbing up the pagoda was free for my 10 year old.
Historical Info – Why Visit?
Da Ci En Temple was first constructed in 648, in the 22nd year of the Tang dynasty (618–907). It was later rebuilt in 1466, in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Eventually, it was authorised as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area and added to UNESCO’s list of World Cultural Heritage.
Xuanzang Sanzang Hall 玄奘三藏院
The complex includes several halls, bell tower, drum tower and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. The Xuanzang Sanzang Hall enshrines the Sarira of Xuanzang and houses a copper statue of Xuanzang.
The wall was decorated with paintings of the events in Xuanzang’s life and his journey to the West (India). I overheard a tour guide explaining the detailed story of each painting. We were not interested in a guided tour so we just casually strolled around.
What was most impressive:
There was a display of the actual scriptures which Xuanzang bought back from India and they were inscribed on thin pieces of leaves. Imagine the effort he had made to bring these back from such a long journey. He translated the Sanskrit language into Chinese which helped spread the teachings of Buddhism.
Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
Historical Info – Why Visit?
The pagoda was originally built under the supervision of the monk Xuanzang. It was built in AD 652 during the Tang dynasty, when Xi’an (Chang’an) was the imperial capital. The original five-story structure was later rebuilt and expanded, with its current seven-story appearance resulting from renovations during the Ming Dynasty after a major earthquake in 1556. The primary function was to hold sutras and figurines of Gautama Buddha that were brought to China from India by Xuanzang.
You could deposit bags before you start climbing up the staircase which is quite steep. I only noticed the “Bag deposit service” to the right side of the entrance after we exited the Pagoda. The guard did not inform us and we headed up the winding staircase carrying our backpacks. The higher it was, the steeper it went.
At the start, there were two staircases, one heading up and one for going down. Soon, they became the same narrow steep staircase that we have to give way if someone needs to come down at the same time.
We explored each storey of the pagoda and looked through the windows with a bird’s eye view. A particular window had a hole through the glass so we could take better photographs. What a nice thought! It was great to look at the Xi’an city from a high point. To my little one, it was fun climbing up and down the pagoda as she did not quite understand the historical significance of this pagoda.
There were some historical artifacts to look at while we climbed each storey, such as, a Ming Dynasty Buddha Statue, replica of the Pattra-leaf scriptures which Xuanzang bought back from India and some ancient bells and bricks.
Peony Pavilion Garden Around the Pagoda = Great Photo Spots
We discovered a nice peony garden as we walked around and it was a great photo spot. There was a pavilion for people to sit in and admire the flowers around them or we could stroll through and look at the pretty blooms against the backdrop of the Pagoda. We took some nice photos with the pavilion and pagoda as the background.
- Opening Hours: 8:30 am – 5 pm
- Entrance Fee: We spent RMB 75b as a family (Adult: RMB 25 each and Children: RMB 12.50)
Lunch at Da Yue Cheng – Shopping mall in Giant Wild Goose Pagoda Scenic Area
After few days of Chinese food, we decided to go for Western and tried the Pizza Hut in the shopping mall nearby Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, called Joy City – Da Yue Cheng. The food was usual like what we often taste from Pizza Hut. The cheese was plentiful in the cheese-crust pizza but too filling that we could not finish the pizza. To order, we had to scan the QR code but as foreigners, the app was not friendly for us. Therefore, we told the staff our orders verbally. What impressed me was the automated delivery robots which sent meals to the table after they were done.
Shaanxi History Museum
This is near the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda so one should plan to visit the Shaanxi History Museum today in the morning if possible. We could only snatch the afternoon timing when it was released a few days ago and when we reached the place, it was super crowded with tourists, most of them Chinese locals.
Historical Info – Why Visit?
Shaanxi Museum in Xi’an houses over 370,000 relics which were unearthed in Shaanxi Province, including murals, paintings, pottery, coins, as well as bronze, gold, and silver objects. Shaanxi was the ancient imperial capital of China, having been the seat of more than 13 feudal dynasties, including the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties. Most importantly, evidence from archeological sites points to the Yellow River region of Shaanxi as a crucial origin point for early Chinese people and their culture.
I thought it might be good to listen to the audio guide to understand more about what we were looking at and rented them at RMB$30 each. You could rent tour guides at the entrance to bring you around but I thought we could be more free to explore more without someone hurrying us about (regretted this). As we walked, we hanged it around our neck. For my girl, we rented the English version as she could not understand profound Chinese words yet. The English version did not showcase all the artifacts on display though and she quickly finished listening to them. Therefore, Dar and I were the only two most interested in walking through the exhibits slowly and listening to the Chinese version of the information introducing specific artifacts. The other two disappeared to look at other halls quickly. We definitely preferred a live tour guide than using this machine.
After a while, I got bored listening to the audio guide as the information was almost the same as the placards beside the artifacts. I could just read them instead of trying to listen to the audio above all the noise the crowd was making. It was hard concentrating when there were different tour guides speaking at the same time with different tour groups of people.
The crowd in this small museum was immense and the halls seemed to be having a lack of air conditioning. While it is always cooling in other museums, this museum was hot and we started perspiring as we walked through the crowd, trying to look at the artifacts. The experience was not a comfortable one and I wished we could have gotten a morning timing where there might be fewer people.
We started with the hall introducing the Paleolithic era with a look at prehistoric people. Being a Chinese with my ancestors from China, I was most interested in the origins of the Chinese people in the prehistoric and the Zhou Dynasty the start of China civilisation. We then went on to view the Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Ming Dynasty artifacts and ended up in the final hall with Tang dynasty artifacts.
These were a few artifacts which impressed me.
- Tip: Do choose a morning timing 8:30-10:30, 10:30-12:00. We obtained the timing of 2:30pm to 4:30pm (no other choice as fastest fingers first when the booking slots opened a few days before) and I felt that this was the most popular timing after lunch causing a huge crowd.
- Reservation is required to enter and we make reservations via the museum’s official WeChat account. It is almost sold out the moment reservations opened. Thus, Vin practised before hand to get the tickets and he failed once for an earlier day, getting it on the last day of our trip. Reservations open at 5:00 PM daily for tickets five days later and entry is free for all galleries except for a special Tang Dynasty exhibition.
- Note: This museum is always crowded as this museum is quite small and accepts 14,000 visitors daily. If you dislike crowds, I read that it is more advisable to visit the Xi’an museum which is situated next to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda (requires reservation too).
Dinner at SAGA International Shopping Mall 赛格国际购物中心
After a few days in Xi’an, we had been to almost all the big shopping malls. We decided to explore the Xiaozhai area on our last day, which contains several malls and headed to SAGA International Shopping Mall which was the largest in the area.
It was an eye-opener for us to see the largest indoor waterfall exhibit inside the mall. There were little ponds with landscaped structures at each level as we go down and we saw ducks, chickens, goose, swans and even cute rabbits! I had never seen live animals inside a mall and my child who loves animals was super excited. The escalator seemed to be longest we had ever taken too.
We decided to eat Chuan Shi Duo 串士多 (Located in B2) – 回转小火锅 again [ate it on Day 3 in 合生汇 Hopson Mall]. We love this concept of an individual hot pot where we could take what we want from the conveyor belt ourselves, like taking sushi in a Japanese restaurant. Ling loves to cook the food she took for herself and she could decide how much to eat with her small appetite. We could also order the soup we like. The three of them ordered tomato soup bases while I ordered buttery corn soup. Each item on the belt was with reasonable pricing. The total meal only adds up to RMB 126 (SGD$22.68) for 4 of us and we ate to the fullest. Chuan Shi Duo is located in Basement 2 of the SAGA International Mall though it was not listed on the website when I checked.
We did check out Haidilao on Level 9 but decided we do not want to waste too much time eating there as we prefer to explore and shop around.
Shopping at the Basement 2 of SAGA International Shopping Mall (For Youngsters)
After eating and walking around the basement, we found TOPTOY 潮玩店，“designer toy” toy shop, which sells my girl’s favourite Sanrio Character “Blind Boxes” and she bought several of them again. The Green Party, a popular cute stationery shop, is also located nearby at the west end. There was also KKV and Miniso, both popular brands which sell character blind boxes, cute stationeries and lifestyle goods.
It seemed that the basement area (B1/B2) is more suitable for young people as there were several character toy shops and the casual eateries cater to the younger generation too. The top floors Level 7 to 12 consists of higher end restaurants.
Location: TOPTOY B2 东北角 (north east) | The Green Party B2 西厅南侧 (west-south) ｜ Miniso B2西区
Model HSR Toy Train on Level 6 of SAGA International Shopping Mall
It was already our last day in Xi’an and Dar still could not find what he likes when my girl had already bought a lot. We kept searching around for a model toy train of the HSR as it is a tradition for him to get a model of places or transport he took while overseas (We took HSR from Xi’an to Chengdu). Taking the lift to Level 6, we finally found an area with many toy stores linked in an open concept. He was glad to found the exact China High Speed Rail model he wanted and also bought a small toy car model.
- Business Hours of SAGA Mall 赛格国际: 10am – 10pm
- Address: Xiaozhai Changan Rd,. (Near Metro Line 2, 3 Xiaozhai Station Exit E). 长安路小寨十字东北角 （靠近地铁2，3号线小寨站E出口)
- Notable Floors: Basement 2 and Level 6 for Toys for children and teenagers / Level 7 and above for restaurants
Flight back to Singapore
Before leaving for the airport, we went back to the hotel to collect our stored luggage. At a study corner, we packed our shopping spree buys carefully into our two 24 inches luggage and a small 20 inch luggage. Some toy items had to be hand-carry in a bag. We bought too much! We also changed our tops as we had been wearing them the entire day and will be sleeping in them during the plane for the night.
The small 20 inch luggage was meant to be a carry-on as it contained Dar’s precious souvenir model but the staff said that the plane is too small and many people will be using the overhead cabin. She advised us to check in the small luggage instead. We agreed but and we had no problem with overloading luggage. However just as we were leaving the counter, we were informed that one 24 inch luggage and the small luggage was flagged for security check and we had to go to another area for the officers to open in front of us. She claimed this was the routine but I do not see a lot of people being flagged for it. We were the last to be checked too.
Dar was advised to take out his train and hand-carry it instead (maybe due to the batteries inside? We do not know why). I also realised that they wanted to check out my digital alarm clock which was flashing time non-stop (forgot to close it and probably looked like a ticking xx) and a small chargeable nightlight which I had brought along. Think the lamp and the clock looked too suspicious under the x-ray! Made a mental note to self; NOT to bring these two items next time! (first time I brought them)
>> Read Previous Post: Xi’an to Chengdu Day Trip
Xi’an June 2025: Day 5 Itinerary
- Da Ci En Temple and Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
- Lunch at Pizza Hut in Da Yue Cheng Mall
- Shaanxi Museum with the origins of the Chinese civilisation [ booked visit ]
- Dinner and shopping at SAGA International Shopping Mall 赛格国际购物中心
- Back to hotel to collect our stored luggage and pack shopping goods
- Flight back to Singapore
READ China Xian 2025 Itinerary Summary: 6-Day China Itinerary: Xi’an | Chengdu
Past Explorations in China :
Read About our China 2018 Trip: 9-Day Family Travel Itinerary in China Shanghai, Suzhou & Hangzhou
Tips For Travelling in China: “Essential Tips for Safe Family Travel in China“
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