The Big Goose Pagoda, or Dayan Ta, (so called to distinguish it from the nearby Small Goose Pagoda, or Xiaoyan Ta, whose only similarity is a lack of any apparent connection to geese) is Xi'an's best preseved example of Tang Dynasty architecture. Situated within the walls of the Daci'en Si (Temple of Grace) its sturdy frame was intended as a fireproof shelter for the valuable Buddhist sutras that the head monk, Xuan Zang, had collected on his travels in India.