Xi'an - Religious Heritages Tour
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Xi'an peaked during the Tang dynasty, when its position at the eastern end of the Silk Road transformed it into a bustling metropolis, luring foreign merchants and faiths, including Nestorian Christians, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Manicheans and Buddhists. Today we tour the most important religious heritage sites in Xi'an. In the morning we visit the Big Goose Pagoda, one of the most famous pagodas in China , and we climb up to take a panoramic view of the old city. Then we visit the Great Mosque and walk around the Muslim quarter, and taste their delicious barbecues and other snacks. In the afternoon we visit the Eight Immortals Temple, a busy local Taoist temple displaying fascinating rituals and unique architectures.
Price (guide & admissions): one person - $ 60; additional person - $ 20 |
The Tang-dynasty pagoda, built in 652 AD, is attached to the extant Ci'en Temple. The monk Xuanzang, whose traveling to India via Central Asia was immortalized in the legendary Chinese classical fiction ¡°Journey to the West¡±, returned with bundles of sutras and officiated at the temple, translating the hundreds of scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese. The 210-ft (64-m) high pogada, built on his order for their storage, is a square, sturdy structure with a brick exterior and wood interior, overlooking the old town of Xi'an.
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First built during the Tang dynasty, Xi'an's Chinese-styled Big Mosque is one of the largest in China. Originally built in 742, when Islam was still a young religion, the mosque's surviving buildings date to the Qing dynasty. Still an acting mosque for the local Islam-believing Hui people, it is located in the heart of the charming Muslim Quarter which is also worth exploring with its winding streets, low houses, narrow lanes and excellent ethnic cuisine.
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Eight Immortals' Temple
East of XI'an's walls, this is its largest Daoist shrine, named after the Eight Immortals of Daoist mythology, who were glimpsed here during the Song Dynasty. The halls and courtyards of this active temple teem with monks and nuns. The temple hosts a popular religious festival on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month. An excellent street market of curios, fakes and memorabilia is held on Wednesdays and Sundays in the road outside the temple.
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