Wangwu Mountain Taoist Temples

Wangwu Mountain, honored as the first fascinating place of Taoism in China, is one of the nine famous mountains in China. It is the Taoist Holy Land featured in the Taoism culture. In the history, the place attracted many famous Taoists to get cultivated here. With their joint efforts, the Yangtai Palace, Ziwei Palace, Qingxu Palace, Shifang Monastery, Lingdu Taoist Temple and other grandiose Taoist temples and palaces were built up one after another, making Wangwu Mountain the activity center of Taoism in China. At present, the major extant Taoist temples include Yangtai Palace, Ying'en Palace and so on.

The full name of Yangtai Palace is Dayangtai Wanshou Palace. It was first built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Main buildings include the Sanqing Main Hall and Yuhuang Pavilion, etc. It is said that Ying'en Palace was established by the Taoists in the early Tang Dynasty to receive the emperor's decrees, hence the name Ying'en Palace (the palace for receiving the emperor's decrees). The palace has three parts. Leaning on the mountain and using its rocks for steps, three parts elevate one by one in a graceful order. Existing ancient buildings include the Temple Gate, Ancestor Main Hall, Sisheng Hall, Lüzu Hall, Sanguan Hall, Leigong Hall and Yuhuang Pavilion, etc. Except the Temple Gate that was built in the period of the Republic of China, other buildings were all built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The principal building Yuhuang Pavilion has a glazed arch ceiling with nine ridges made of bricks tiles.