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Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains  |
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 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 the Taoism. On the slopes of the Taoist mountain is the largest existing Taoist temple complex in the world. The ancient architecture of the temples themselves, the oldest of which dates to the 7th century, is considered a supreme example of Chinese architecture as well as the cultural relics.
The palaces and temples exemplify the architectural and artistic achievements of China's Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In as early as the Tang Dynasty, people built a Five Dragon Temple. In the following dynasties the buildings on the mountain were expanded. A number of Taoist Temples were built here during the construction sprees of the Ming emperors Cheng Zu and Zhen Wu. Noted temples among them are Purple Cloud Temple, Golden Palace Hall and Nanyan Temple.
The Purple Cloud Temple is the best-preserved existing palace in the mountain. Built in 1413, it consists of several halls, including the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the Purple Sky Hall, the East Hall, the West Hall and the Prince Cliff.
The Golden Palace was built in 1416, the 14th year of the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty. The hall is 5.54 meters in height, 4.4 meters in width and 3.15 meters in depth. The hall is of complete gilded 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.
The 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 they built Taoist temples. In history there were more than 600 buildings in Nanyan. But most of them were destroyed in the late years of the Qing Dynasty. Now there are the Nanyan Temple, Taichang Temple, Thunder God Cave and Crow Temple.
Today in the Wudangshan there are 36 palace halls, which were built in the Ming Dynasty. These buildings are the largest existing Taoist complex, in which various sculptures, scriptures and Taoist items are of high cultural and artistic value.
In December of 1994, the Ancient Architecture in Wudang Mountain was listed in the Chronology of Recognition of World Heritages in China.
Editor: Han Ling
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