Located southwest of Danjiangkou City, Hubei Province, Wudang Mountains is a famous Taoism resort. People call it "the First Mountain under Heaven", which is a little exaggeration, but it has to be seen to be believed.
Wudang Mountains back on to the Shennong Stream, reaching Qinling in the north and Bashan in the south. It is a combination of natural scenery and man-made sight. Distinctly, In Spring, flowers bloom & glow to its full blossom and everything is in abundance of growth; Summer time is cloudy with lots of sunshine and at the same time pleasantly cool; In the Autumn of life, one could literally feel the mood with it's colorful scenery; During Winter, snow covers with a feel of surrealism. So it is an ideal place for your sightseeing holidays at any time of a year.
The main scenic attractions on Mt. Wudang are as follows:
Xuanyue Archway
The four big Chinese Characters written by emperor Jiajing on the horizontal tablet of the archway reads “Zhi shi XuanYue ”meaning “lofty mount ruling the world”. The archway was built in the 31st year of Jiajing reign (1552AD) in the Ming Dynasty and it is 12 meters high and 12.8 meters wide. It is a four-pillar stone building with three entrances and five overlapping roofs.
Yuxu Palace
The palace was built in the eleventh year of Yongle reign in Ming Dynasty. (1413 AD) and was rebuilt in 1512 AD. Having 22200 bays of floor space, the architectural complex was the largest among the Taoist constructions on Mt. Wudang. Unfortunately Yuxu Palace was brought to ruins by a chaotic war in 1745. However, there still are some structures survived including the four pavilions housing stone tablets each of which is on a fabulous tortoise whose weight is over several hundred tons.
The Needle-Grinding Well
This place has another name “Chunyang palace” which was built in the Yongle reign of Ming Dynasty (1402-1425). The existing constructions were built in the 2nd year of Xianfeng reign (1852) of the Qing Dynasty and repaired in 1984. The temple has a floor space of 1700 square meters with 50 bays of flat house.
The Prince Hillside
The Prince Hillside is also called Fuzhen Temple (Revelation Temple), which was first built, in the 10th year of Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty. The temples here were rebuilt three times in 1662, 1685 and 1691 respectively. The constructions of nowadays are kept as they were, which is one of the large architectural complexes on the mountain.
Nanyan Palace
The Taoist legend says that Zhenwu flew up to Heaven from nayan after become an immortal. Nayan is the most beautiful spot among the 36 rock cliffs. It was rebuilt in the 13th year Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1413AD) , and there were palaces, pavilions and Taoist houses which have over 150 bays of structures. In the 31st year in Jiajing Reign of the Ming Dynasty an extension was carried out and the constructions came up to 460 bays. Today only a stone palace, the Southern heaven gate, a pavilion housing a stone tablet and the “Two Rites” Palace are survived.
Qiongtai Temple (The Marble Tower Temple) the temple is located 10km southeast to the foot of Tianzhu Peak, but the straight-line distance between is only 1350 meters. The complex is composed of the upper temple, the middle temple and the lower temple. In the Yuan Dynasty it was named “ Qiongtai palace” and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties the complex was extended. There were 24 Taoist courtyards with hundreds of bays of structures. In 1856 the constructions were ruined in a war. Now some temples have been renovated and cable-car station has been built here.
Zixiao Palace (The Purple Firmament Palace) The Palace was built in the 11th year in the Yongle Reign of the Ming Dynasty (1413AD) .In the early years after the construction had been finished, there were palaces, veranda wings, dining halls and pavilions, which have 860 bays. The main palace was conferred a title by the emperor of “Taiyuan Zixiao Palace” which means literally “the palace of Origin of the Purple Heaven “ The mountain behind the palace is named Zhanqi, literally meaning a fluttering flag in the breeze, that is, the shape of the mountain looks like an unfolded flag, Beyond the valley stand several mountain peaks, such as Zhaobi peak, Santai Peak, Wulao Peak, Lazhu Peak, Luomao peak, and Xianglu Peak. On the right is the Thunder God Cave and on the left are the Pool of Traces of Yu, the reputed founder of the Xia Dynasty, and Baozhu Peak. The mountain glen here shapes like a huge throne and Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty bestowed a title of “A Place of Perfect Fortune in the Purple Heaven” on the palace.
The Golden Palace
The Golden Palace is one of the first national monuments promulgated by the State Council. It is located at the top of Tianzhu Peak, which is 1312 meters above the sea level. The palace was built in the 14th year of Yongle reign in the Ming Dynasty; the palace is 5.54 meters high, 4.4 meters long and 3.15 meters wide. The palace is cast with copper and coated with gold and it is a rare art treasure in the world.
The Five-dragon palace
The Five-dragon Palace was first built in Zhengguan reign of the Tang Dynasty (627-649 AD) at the foot of Lingying Mountain Peak. In 1412 the complex was extended and many constructions were added, such as the Imperial Hall, the Gate of the Palace, the Veranda Wings, the Jade Statue Hall, The Parents Hall, the hall of Revelation of holy Spirit, the Hall of the Founder of Taoism and Sacristy. Until the reign of Jiajing In Ming Dynasty, there were 850 bays of construction. In 1930 the palace was destroyed in a fire, however, many remains and relics can be seen there.