Jianfu Temple

In 1487, an earthquake ripped a foot-wide crack through Xi’an’s Small Wild Goose Pagoda. Thirty-four years later, another quake struck – and the crack appeared to close itself. The phenomenon seemed miraculous enough to be recorded in an inscription, but the pagoda’s real survival story may lie underground: its packed-earth foundation has helped the 1,300-year-old tower endure repeated seismic shocks.

The pagoda was built between 707 and 710 to house Buddhist scriptures brought back by the monk Yijing, who left China by sea in 671 and spent roughly 25 years traveling through more than 30 countries. He returned with hundreds of Sanskrit texts and translated many at Jianfu Temple, helping make it one of Tang Dynasty Chang’an’s great centers of Buddhist scholarship.

The temple itself dates to 684 and received the name Jianfu Temple in 690. Its pagoda originally rose 15 stories and roughly 45 meters before earthquakes claimed its upper section. Today, 13 stories and 43.4 meters remain: cracked, shortened, shaken dozens of times, and still standing.