Da Ci'en, Xi'an, Musical Fountains.

Today's highlight was a visit to The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, just outside the ancient city walls. This is the centre piece of an extremely important Buddhist temple, originally inhabited by over 300 monks but now down to around 30. There is a convoluted story about how it got it's name but suffice it to say the big refers to the pagoda, not the size of the goose. The pagoda is surrounded by gardens containing the working buildings of the D a Ci'en Temple , with construction of the latest almost complete. The fact that there is expansion serves to illustrate that it is a living & working entity, not a sterile relic.
The photo today is of spectacular "Musical Fountains" within the larger complex surrounding the temple. Hundreds await each "performance" and many get in amongst the water jets for a good soaking. This was part of the accompaniment to Rudeski's march I think. Barrabum barrabum barrabum bum bum . . . . . . . .

The entry charge of £5 each was augmented by a £3 charge for a volunteer guide. Excellent value as she was able to explain much about the temple's origins and importance in the development of Buddhism in China. An early Chinese luminary, Master Xuan Zhuang, spent 17 years from 629 AD to 645 AD travelling the Old Silk Road as far as India where he collected many Buddhist scriptures, returned to Xi'an, built the pagoda and temple and caused the 400 + scriptures to be translated from Sanskrit into Chinese. From these translations Chinese Buddhism flourished.

The guide eventually deposited us in a room full of Chinese art, and a very able artist, who gave us a personal journey through it's history and styles, and of course the articles for sale. Much of the art available here is decidedly not to our taste but with a bit of happy negotiating we did come away with 4 original pieces for a relatively low outlay.

One of the gems we gleaned today concerns the popular image of Buddha sitting in the lotus position showing off his rotund figure. This is a purely Chinese representation, not Indian, and is The Happy Buddha. He brings you good luck if you rub his belly. All of this explains an incident back in Hoi An, Vietnam, when one of 3 delightful teenage girls came up to me in the hotel, rubbed my (ample) stomach and skipped off giggling something about a happy Buddha. I thought she was just being cheeky / friendly, but she was doing herself a good turn!

We rounded off the day with a second foray into the embryonic Metro system and a few beers / wines and a very good pizza in Pub Street, De Fu Xiang, just about the only area you can find western style bars, albeit with heavy Chinese influence. The entertainment there this evening came from a crowd of young professional photographers and their models, prancing about the street striking poses and being snapped by the likes of me and other tourists. Seems to be a weekend thing here - photographing false wedding shots in weird locations.

Enough already!

G&S