CHINA 5A TRAVEL
The First Sacred Mountain of Taoism — a UNESCO complex of Ming palaces built across 70 kilometres of peaks, where Zhang Sanfeng's inner martial arts were born, monks still practice tai chi at dawn, and the Golden Hall crowns the 1,612-metre summit above a sea of cloud.
Mount Wudang in Hubei's Shiyan is Taoism's grandest stage: since the Ming emperor Yongle built nine palaces, nine temples and 33 further complexes here as the 'royal family temple' — a 140-li chain of architecture that earned UNESCO World Heritage listing — the mountain has ranked as 'the First Immortal Mountain under Heaven', formally placed above the Five Sacred Peaks as the 'Sacred Mountain of the Realm'.
The physical drama matches the title: 72 peaks wheeling around the 1,612-metre Heavenly Pillar, the dragon-turtle 'Heaven-made Xuanwu' landform, and Taiji Lake — the reservoir of the South–North Water Diversion — spreading at the foot. Wudang is equally the cradle of tai chi and inner-boxing: Zhang Sanfeng's legendary arts live on in the morning practice of the mountain's Taoists and its martial academies.
The visit runs gate → bus → cable or pilgrim stair: Prince Slope's twisting Yellow River Wall and One-Pillar-Twelve-Beams, the Purple Cloud Palace's Ming timber, the South Cliff's Leaning-Back Dragon incense jutting over the void, and the Golden Summit for sunrise. A full day covers the core; pilgrims and photographers overnight at Seven Stars Tree to catch dawn from the top.
Highlights
The Golden Summit
The bronze Golden Hall of 1416 atop Heavenly Pillar — sunrise above the cloud sea.
South Cliff Palace
Architecture hung on the cliff face — the dragon-head burner leaning over the abyss.
Purple Cloud Palace
The mountain's working Taoist centre — Ming halls, morning rites, incense smoke.
Prince Slope
The Nine-Bend Yellow River Wall and the One-Pillar-Twelve-Beams engineering show.
Tai Chi at Dawn
Taoists and students flowing through Zhang Sanfeng's forms in the temple courtyards.
Taiji Lake
Asia's largest artificial lake at the foot — the water half of the mountain's yin-yang.
Photo Gallery
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