Why go
Wudang's fame rests on the Ming emperor Yongle, who in the early 15th century ordered a palace complex built here on a scale rivalled only by his Forbidden City: 33 buildings strung across 72 peaks, in honour of the Taoist god Zhenwu. UNESCO listed the ensemble in 1994, and monastic life continues among the buildings today.
Popular culture knows Wudang as the mountain of the tai chi masters — the legendary monk Zhang Sanfeng is said to have invented the art watching a snake fight a magpie here. Whatever you believe, watching a Taoist practise sword forms on a terrace above the clouds makes a believer of most visitors.
- The Golden Hall (金殿) of 1416 — 80 tonnes of gilded bronze on the summit of Tianzhu Peak, lightning-struck for centuries and still golden
- Purple Cloud Palace (紫霄宫), the best-preserved imperial temple complex on the mountain
- Nanyan Palace, clamped to a cliff with the famous 'dragon-head incense' beam jutting over the void
- Misty stone stairways through forest — and resident Taoist monks practising sword forms at dawn
The classic route
Take the scenic-area bus to the cable car, ride to near the top of Tianzhu Peak, and climb the final stone stairs to the Golden Hall — go early, since summit cloud often closes in by noon. Descend by the stair route through the Heaven Gate arches, detouring to Nanyan Palace's cliff temple on the way down, then finish at Purple Cloud Palace in the valley. This fits one hard day; two days with a night on the mountain is far kinder.
Martial arts and monastic life
Wudang's monasteries run martial-arts academies, and visitors can watch morning training or book multi-day tai chi and qigong courses lasting from a weekend to months. Even without enrolling, dawn is the show: monks sweeping courtyards, incense curling in the cold air, the valley below still a lake of mist. Respect the rules — some inner halls are closed to visitors, and photography is restricted in a few shrines.
Getting there
- High-speed rail to Shiyan East or Wudangshan West station, then a 40-minute taxi/bus to the gate
- Direct buses run from Wuhan (~5 hours)
- Built
- Ming dynasty, 1412 onwards (Golden Hall 1416)
- Summit
- Tianzhu Peak, 1,612 m
- UNESCO
- World Heritage since 1994
