Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains Travel Guide

The palaces and temples which form the nucleus of this group of secular and religious buildings exemplify the architectural and artistic achievements of China's Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The Wudang Mountains are 400 km in circumference. The highest peak, Tianzhu(Sky Pillar),with an elevation of l,6l2m is surrounded by 72 other peaks and 24 streams and possesses varlous precipitous cliffs and grotesque caves. Abounding with luxuriant forests and standing against white clouds, they afford a splendid landscape. Situated in the scenic valleys and on the slopes of the Wudang mountains in Hubei Province, the site, which was built as an organized complex during the Ming dynasty (14th-17th centuries), contains Taoist buildings from as early as the 7th century. It represents the highest standards of Chinese art and architecture over a period of nearly 1,000 years. The Wudang Mountains Taoist buildings were first constructed in the Zhenguan reign(627-49 AD)of the Tang Dynasty, extended in the Song period and further enlarged in Yuan times. During the Ming period, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and laborers were sent there and large-scale construction was carried out for l2 years according to several edicts of Emperor Yongle and under the direction of his ministers. The work resulted in the completion of a huge Taoist building complex including nine palaces, nine temples,36 nunneries and 72 cave-temples, which furnished the imperial house with an important place for maintaining its ideological control by means of religion.