Mount Sanqing三清山
- Type
- Daoist Sacred Mountains
- Location
- China · Jiangxi · Yushan, Shangrao / Dexing · On the border of Yushan County and Dexing City; the main peak, Yujing Peak, is 1,819.9 m above sea level
- Coordinates
- 28.907, 118.063 Map ↗
- School
- Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism, Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- First built
- Eastern Jin (tradition: Ge Hong built a hermitage here for alchemical practice) · A temple to Laozi was built in the Tang; the Sanqing Temple was built in the Song; during the Jingtai and Tianshun eras of the Ming, Wang Hu and others greatly expanded the Sanqing Palace and the mountain's stone Daoist architectural complex
- Heritage status
- UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site (2008)Ancient Architectural Complex of Mount Sanqing, Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2006)UNESCO Global Geopark (2012)
Overview
Mount Sanqing takes its name from its three towering peaks — Yujing, Yuxu and Yuhua — which stand like the Three Pure Ones seated in a row. Tradition holds that Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin once built a hut here and refined elixirs; a Daoist temple was built in the Tang, and the Sanqing Temple was built during the Qiandao era of the Song. During the Jingtai and Tianshun eras of the Ming (1450–1464), the local Wang Hu family engaged the priest Zhan Biyun and others to greatly expand the site of Daoist practice, laying it out according to the principles of the Yijing and the positions of the stars, and constructing the Sanqing Palace, the Longhu Hall, the Fenglei Pagoda, the Jiutian Yingyuan Hall and other stone structures, along with more than two hundred cliff-face carvings, forming a well-preserved complex of Ming-dynasty Daoist stone architecture known as the 'open-air Daoist museum.' The Sanqing Palace is a granite hall built in imitation of timber construction, with the ancient 'Cloud Path' and the 'Heaven's Gate' stone archway before it. In 2008, Mount Sanqing was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its granite peak-forest scenery, and in 2012 it was designated a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Highlights
- Sanqing Palace
- Fenglei Pagoda
- Longhu Hall
- Ming-dynasty stone Daoist architectural complex
- Granite peak-forest scenery