Golden Summit and Taihe Palace, Wudang武当山金顶太和宫
- Type
- Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)
- Location
- China · Hubei · Danjiangkou, Shiyan · On and below the summit of Tianzhu Peak, Wudang Mountains.
- Coordinates
- 32.399, 111.005 Map ↗
- School
- Wudang Xuanwu Lineage, Wudang Daoism, Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism
- First built
- 1416 · The Golden Hall was cast in the fourteenth year of the Yongle reign; Taihe Palace was completed at the same time, and the Purple Gold City was extended during the Jiajing reign.
- Heritage status
- Golden Hall, Wudang Mountains — Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (1961)Component of a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1994)
Overview
Taihe Palace lies within the Purple Gold City on Tianzhu Peak and is the highest temple complex on Wudang Mountains. Its Golden Hall, built in the fourteenth year of the Yongle reign of the Ming (1416), is cast entirely of gilt bronze in the form of a timber-frame hall with a double-eaved hip roof, three bays wide and three bays deep; its components were cast in Beijing and transported to the summit for assembly, making it the largest and most prestigious gilt-bronze hall surviving in China. Inside stand bronze images of Zhenwu together with the Golden Lad and Jade Maiden and the Generals of Water and Fire, which have withstood six centuries of wind and rain without rusting. Around the Golden Hall the stone wall of the Purple Gold City follows the contours of the peak, with a Heavenly Gate set on each of its four sides. Taihe Palace also contains the Hall of Imperial Scriptures, the Hall of Worship, the Bell and Drum Towers, and the Zhuanzhan Hall (which houses an ancient Yuan-dynasty bronze shrine). Phenomena on the Golden Summit such as ‘Thunder and Fire Tempering the Hall’ and ‘Sea Horse Breathing Mist’ are counted among the wonders of Wudang.
Highlights
- Gilt-Bronze Golden Hall
- Purple Gold City
- Ancient Yuan Bronze Shrine
- Hall of Imperial Scriptures