| Daoism |
 Qingcheng
Mountain
Located 90 km from Chengdu, are the Qingcheng Mountain, acclaimed
as 'the most secluded place on earth'. The mountain is densely covered with
green woods and the skyline of its peaks resembles that of city walls; hence
the name. Nestled among the lofty ancient trees are 108 monasteries, temples
and pavilions. The beautiful Green City Mountain rises up to 1600 meters.
Known as one of the birthplaces of Taoism, the Green City Mountain houses
many cultural relics relating to the founding of Taoism, some of which date
back 2000 years.
White
Cloud Temple
Located at 8 Lane 100 Xilinhou Road and built in 1882, the Baiyunguan
(White Cloud) Daoist Temple is the most famous Daoist structure in Shanghai.
The temple houses "Shanqing Hall", "Yuhaung Pavilion",
the East Hall and West Hall.
|
Wudangshan
Mountain
Wudangshan Mountain, located in the northwest of Hubei, covers an area
of more than 30 square kilometers. It is now classified as National Park.
Wudangshan has 72 peaks with steep valleys and beautiful scenery. The
main peak, Tian Zhu Peak (Heaven Column), is 1,612 meters above sea level.
Wudangshan is known as a sacred mountain of Taoism and famous Taoist masters
in history used to reside here. Worshippers built the Five Dragon Temple
as early as the Tang Dynasty and the buildings on the mountain were expanded
in the following dynasties. During the reign of the Ming Emperor Chengzu,
large numbers of soldiers and laborers were hired to carry out large-scale
construction project. Now there are 36 palace halls, which were built in
the Ming Dynasty. These buildings make it the largest existing Taoist complex,
in which various sculptures, scriptures and Taoist items of important cultural
and artistic value are stored.
| Zixiao Palace (Purple Sky Palace) |
 |
|
Zixiao Palace, located on Tian Zhu Peak of the Wudangshan Mountain,
was built in the year of 1413. It is the best preserved existing palaceon
the mountain. The main attractions in the palace include 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 place of the 36 scenic places
in Wudangshan. In as early as the Tang and Song dynasties, Taoist
priests practiced Taoism here and built Taoist temples. History documents
there were more than 600 buildings in Nanyan but most of them were
destroyed in the late years of the Qing Dynasty. All that remains
are the Nanyan Palace, Taichang Temple, Thunder God Cave and Crow
Temple.
|
|
| Jindian
(Golden Palace Hall) |
|
|
On top of the Tian Zhu Peak of Wudangshan is Jindian, meaning Golden
Palace. The hall was built in 1416, the 14th year of the reign of
Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. Thehallis 5.54 meters in height,
4.4 meters in width and 3.15 meters in depth. The hall is of completegilded
bronze  structure. After
more than 500 years, the hall still glitters under the sun as new.
It is 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
by UNESCO.
|
|
|
