Great Goose Pagoda (Dayan Ta)

Xi'an

This Tang-dynasty pagoda was built in 652 AD to house the sutras (Buddhist scriptures) that Xuanzang had brought back from India. It became the focus of a large monastic complex, managed by Xuanzang himself, where he and his assistants translated and studied the scriptures. The pagoda is 64m (210 ft) tall, and consists of a brick exterior and a wooden interior. Gaozong's original building was five stories high; Empress Wu Zetian added five more in 701-704, but the building was later damaged and reduced to its present seven stories.