Torrential rain in the morning so, after having a rather tasty soup at a cheap cafe for Chinese workers, we got a taxi (amazingly cheap) to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda perhaps 25 kms to the south of the old city. It was built in 652 to house the Buddhist sutras brought back to China from India by the monk Xuan Zang who then spent 19 years translating them. Lots of statues of the Buddha in the surrounding buildings which are part of the Da Ci’en Temple, one of the largest temples from the Tang Dynasty. The pagoda has 248 steps in about 12 storeys to the top where there is a great view of the city.
We got a taxi back to the centre of the old walled city to see the Bell Tower which has a huge bell. It was rung at dawn. Like the city walls, the tower was built in the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty and then rebuilt in the 17th. It was accessed from a huge circular underpass where we got lost among the millions of people. Like the Drum Tower, the Bell Tower was lit up at night. It contained an exhibition of beautiful porcelin from the nearby Xianfeng village from the Ming Dynasty.
