Wudangshan
Mountain, located in the northwest of Hubei Province, covers an area
of more than 30 square kilometers. It is now classified as a national
park. Wudangshanhas 72 peaks with steep valleys and beautiful scenery
. The main peak, Tianzhu Peak (HeavenColumn), is 1,612 meters above
sea level.
Wudangshan is known as a sacred mountain
of the Taoism. Famous Taoist masters in history used to reside here.
It was as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that people built the
Five Dragon Temple. In the following dynasties, the buildings on the
mountain were expanded. There are now 36 palace halls, which were built
in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). These buildings are the largest existing
Taoist complexes, in which various sculptures, scriptures and Taoist
items are of high cultural and artistic value.
Sightseeing
Zixiao
Palace (Purple Sky Palace)
Zixiao Palace, located on Tianzhu Peak of
Wudangshan Mountain, was built in the year of 1413. It is the best-preserved
existing palace on the mountain. The main attractions in the palace
are the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the Purple Sky Hall, the East Hall, the
West Hall and the Prince Cliff.
Nanyan
Nanyan
is known as the most spectacular spot of the 36 scenic places in Wudangshan.
It was as early as the Tang and Song Dynasty (618-1279) that Taoist
priests practiced Taoism here and built Taoist temples for worshiping.
Historical records show there were more than 600 buildings in Nanyan
but most of them were destroyed in the late years of the Qing Dynasty
(1644-1911). The Nanyan Palace, Taichang Temple, Thunder God Cave and
Crow Temple are still standing.
Jindian
(Golden Palace Hall)
On top of the Tianzhu Peak of Wudangshan
is Jindian, meaning Golden Palace. The hall was built in 1416 and it
is 5.54 meters in height, 4.4 meters in width and 3.15 meters in depth.
The hall is a complete gilded bronze structure. After more than 500
years standing, the hall still glitters under the sun as new to become
one of the wonders of Chinese ancient architecture.
In December 1994, the ancient architecture
in Wudang Mountain was listed in the Chronology of Recognition of World
Heritages in China.