Golden Hall
On the summit.
Unknown — Public domain · gongfu_king — CC BY-SA 2.0 · liuzr99 — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bernalicious — CC BY-SA 4.0 · liuzr99 — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gisling — CC BY-SA 3.0 · xiquinhosilva — CC BY 2.0 · 涔水影人 — CC BY 3.0
A mountain range in north-west Hubei that is one of the most important Taoist sites in China and one of its four sacred Taoist mountains, famous around the world as the home of the Wudang style of tai chi. Temples have stood here since the Tang, but the greatest complex was built by the Ming Yongle Emperor, when the mountain held nine palaces, nine monasteries, 36 nunneries and 72 temples; it has been a World Heritage Site since 1994. The buildings spread over steep green slopes and misty peaks: red walls, roofs of green and yellow tiles, stone bridges over streams, the Purple Cloud Palace (Zixiao Gong) on the mountainside, and on the summit, at 1,612 m, the bronze Golden Hall inside a stone wall known as the Forbidden City of the Taihe Palace, built in 1419. Among its oldest structures is a bronze shrine of 1307. The combined ticket is CNY 240, covering entry, the compulsory park buses, the Golden Summit and the Purple Cloud Palace, and the cable car to the summit costs CNY 85 return or 45 one way, per the scenic area's official site. Allow at least a full day.
On the summit.
On the slope.
The mountain view.
Danjiangkou, Shiyan prefecture, north-west Hubei
The CNY 240 combined ticket covers entry, the compulsory park buses, the Golden Summit and the Purple Cloud Palace, while the cable car is extra, per the scenic area's official site.