A leaning tower saved by sealing hundreds of hidden wells
In short: The Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an is a masterpiece of Tang Dynasty engineering, but it nearly succumbed to a modern crisis. For decades, the massive structure began to tilt dangerously due to invisible forces beneath the earth, leading to an ambitious rescue mission that stabilized its very foundation.
Constructed in 652 AD under the direction of the monk Xuanzang, the pagoda was originally built as a five-story structure with a soil core and brick exterior to house Buddhist scriptures brought from India. Over centuries, it underwent numerous transformations: Empress Wu Zetian rebuilt it as a seven-story pavilion during the Wu Zhou Dynasty, and it was later expanded to ten stories before being destroyed by war. The current seven-story form reflects major Ming dynasty renovations, including an additional sixty-centimeter-thick layer of cladding added in 1604.
The structure's stability became a modern concern due to the over-exploitation of local groundwater. From 1945 onwards, this caused the pagoda to begin tilting at an average rate of 1 millimeter per year between 1985 and 1996. By 1996, field measurements confirmed the tower had reached a tilt of approximately 1.0105 meters. To combat this, the Xi'an municipal government initiated a massive intervention in 1996, sealing over 400 captive wells in the surrounding area.
The engineering success was notable: starting in 1997, the pagoda began to shift back toward its original position. A steady pace of roughly 1 millimetre annually resulted in a 9.4 millimetre shift away from the tilt by late 2006. Today, the pagoda stands as a UNESCO World Heritage site (inscribed in 2013), protected by strict buffer zones and dedicated custodians who manage its preservation as a symbol of the Silk Road's cultural transmission.
The tower is also a feat of architectural mimicry; while built of brick, it features arches, balustrades, and dougong designed to imitate traditional wooden structures. Its interior contains 248 steps leading through rooms adorned with frescoes depicting Xuanzang’s journey west.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
- Also: Wikidata — Giant Wild Goose Pagoda · CC0
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