Another travel day as we transitioned from Xi'an to Guilin in the late afternoon. Before leaving we packed in a morning of more tourist activities including a visit to the Great Wild Goose Pagoda. It was built in 652 (during the Tang dynasty) to store stuff brought back to China from India by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang.
Xuanzang was a pretty interesting figure and is the historical inspiration for the Chinese 16th century classic Journey to the West, a fictional account of the monk's pilgrimage to India and back. The story is filled with mythological creatures and fantastic adventures and the main character is not actually the monk himself, but one of his bodyguards - the handsome monkey king, Sun Wukong. Yes, he's an actual monkey. But he was born from a stone, is super strong, super fast, and loves to kill people violently! The story was turned into an incredibly popular TV mini-series in the late 80's with incredibly cheesy special effects and is constantly re-broadcast on Chinese television (think Land of the Lost meets Kung Fu.) I loved it.
Other highlights from the day
- Shaanxi History Museum
- Tomb of Emperor Jingdi (with more clay warriors!)
- Flight to Guilin
- Dinner at local restaurant with Guilin guide, Louise
(See my favorite shots from the entire trip here!)
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