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The Golden Hall (Jindian or Jinding)
The Golden Hall (Jindian or Jinding), situated at the top of Tianzhu Peak (1612m), is one of the most distnctive landmarks in Wudangshan. It was built in 1416 during the Ming Dynasty. According to local histories, the hall was forged in Beijing, then carried to Wudangshan.
The Golden Hall is one part of the Supreme Harmony Temple (Taihe Palace). Built entirely of gilded copper (an incredible 20 tons of fine copper, and 300km of gold), the hall is one of the biggest gilded copper temples in China.
The Golden Hall contains a bronze statue of Zhen Wu, the Ming Emperor turned Taoist deity. Around the statue stand more gilded copper statues. Between them, the statues and hall represent the best in Ming copper work.
The Purple Cloud Temple
Standing on Zhanqifeng Peak, is the best-preserved existing temple in Wudangshan. Built in 1413, it consists of several halls, including the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the Purple Sky Hall, the East Hall, the West Hall, the Parent Hall and the Prince Cliff.
The Purple Sky Hall is enshrined with statues of Zhen Wu at different stages of his life. Statues of Zhen Wu's parents rest in the Parent Hall. On the left side is the Buddhist deity Guanyin, and on the right is the Shouzi Mother who couples pray to for sons. The hall also houses cultural relics, some of which date back as far as the 7th century.
The Nanyan Temple
Perching on the South Cliff, Nanyan Temple (Nanyan gong) is known as the place where Emperor Zhen Wu found Taoism and flew to heaven. The whole structure - hall-pillars, beams, arches, gates and windows - is created out of rock.
The temple is enshrined with gilded bronze statues of several dozen Taoist deities, including the God of Prime Origin and the North God. There are also 500 gilded iron statues of the heavenly officials on the cliffs, each about 30cm tall. With their well-balanced proportions, they are amazingly life-like.
Nanyan Temple is considered the most spectacular of Wudangshan's three famous temples, the other two being the Purple Cloud Temple (Zixiao gong) and the Golden Hall (Jindian). The temple was officially appointed an Important Relic Preserving Unit in 1996.
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