Wudang Mountain

武当山

Natural Features

自然概况

Wudang Mountain，also called Taihe Mountain，is a well-known sacred mountain to Taoists in China. It stands aloft in Danjiangkou，Shiyan City，Hubei Province，overlooking the vast water of Danjiangkou Reservoir in the front，and joining Shennongjia Forest Reserve at the back，covering an area of about 400 square kilometers. The highest peak is the Heavenly Pillar Peak，rises 1 612 meters above the sea level.Around it there are altogether 72 peaks，24 streams，11 caverns，3 ponds，9 springs，10 pools，9 wells，and 9 terraces，to form this beautiful and grand view of Wudang Mountain.

武当山又名太和山，位于湖北省十堰市丹江口境内，是中国著名的道教圣地。武当山面临碧波万顷的丹江水库，背倚苍莽的神农架原始森林，整个景区面积约400平方公里。武当山主峰为海拔1 612米的天柱峰，周围邻里的众多风景名胜，尤其是二峰、二十四涧、十一洞、三潭、九泉、十池、九井、九台等的景色非常美丽壮观。

The large scale of its architectural complex was planned by the emperor himself，and the construction was supervised by imperial officials specially assigned for the project. The sites of the buildings were decided by gemancy experts，and the master craftsmen of the nation were summoned for the construction under the supervision of the minister of construction.Therefore the complex is grand and imperial，brilliant and glorious，with features that none is to match.With its 8 main palaces around the center Golden Summit，the complex as a whole looks with the majesty of a royal architecture of religion.

武当山庞大的道教建筑群是由皇帝亲自策划管理，朝廷派员营建的在整个背建过程中，朝廷指派风水家勘测选址，汇集个国能工巧匠精心施工，工部大臣亲临督工，因而使整个建筑群气势雄伟，瑰朋辉煌，极富特色整个建筑群以金顶为中心，八大宫为主体，具有皇家宗教建筑的气派。

The most distinguishing feature of Mount Wudang is the large Taoist architectural complex. Making full use of the terrain featuring towering mountains and deep valleys，more than 20 000 rooms were built in spots where they most harmoniously blended with the nearby woods ,rocks and streams so that the man-built structures and natural elements complimented each other. That is also the "oneness of heaven and man" and the "way of nature" Taoism pursues.The Gold Hall，built in 1416 on the top of the Heavenly Pillar Peak，is the largest copper structure existing in the country. It is 5 .54 meters tall and 5.R meters wide. The walls were cast separately，but precisely and well knit. All the statues of god and sacrificial vessels are made of copper. Although 500 odd years have past，they still glitter as before.

武当山最具特色的景点是那片道教建筑群。这些建筑充分利用了武当山的自然风貌，依山就势，宛若天成，让人体会到道家‘天人合一，道法自然”的玄妙神奇之意。两万多间房屋星罗棋布于山上的从林、岩石或溪水之中，显得十分和谐自然，使这些人类建筑和自然风光融为一体。其中，建于1416年的金殿，高高地站立在天柱峰顶，是我国现存最大的铜质建筑它高5.54米，宽5. 8米，几向墙壁分开浇铸，但却吻合得极为精确细致这里所有的塑像和祭坛都由铜来浇铸，虽然时隔500余年，却仍像从前样栩栩发光。

The complex consists of buildings of three dynasties，Yuan，Ming ,and Qing，but those preserved to the present are mostly built in Ming Dynasty. Specifically，the survived buildings mainly include the four palaces of Taihe Palace，South Peak Palace，Purple Firmament Palace，and Sage Encounter Palace，the remains of Jade Heaven Palace and Five Dragons Palace， as well as Yuanhe Temple，Revelation Temple and numbers of nunneries，shrines .and cave temples，altogether over 200 in number，with a total building floor of about 50 000 square meters on an area of about 1 000 000 square meters.

武当山建筑群包括元、明、清三个历史时期的建筑物。目前保存下来的多为明代建筑。武当山古建筑群现存太和宫、南岩宫、紫霄宫、遇真宫四座官殿，玉虚宫、五龙宫两处遗址，以及元和观、复真观和大量庵堂、神祠、岩庙等，共有古建筑200余栋，建筑面积5万平方米，占地100多万平方米。

The religious relics kept in the palaces and temples also enjoy a fame far and wide. There are 1 486 statues of bronze，iron，wood，or stone，nearly 1 000 of which were made before Ming Dynasty. There are 409 sites of cliff face inscriptions carved in Song，Yuan，Ming，and Qing Dynasties. And there are 682 religious tools or ceremonial appliances as well as various Taoism paintings and classics. All these beautiful artifacts，tens of thousands in number，constitute the most charming scenes of human culture. In addition，Wudang Mountain is also the cradle of the Wudang Kung Fu，a martial art from Wudang Taoism that is one of the main schools of Chinese martial art.

武当山宫观里的各种宗教文物闻名遐迩，保存着铜、铁、木、石各类造像l1486件，其中明代以前制品近1 000件，宋、元、明、清摩崖碑刻409处，法器、供器682件以及图书经籍等。数以万计的精美文物构成了武当山最具魅力的人文景观。此外，武当道教中产生的武当武术为中华武术的重要流派之一。

In 1994，the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO inscribed the building groups of Wudang Mountain into World Heritage List as a cultural heritage of the whole world.

1994年，联合国教科文组织世界遗产委员会将武当山古建筑群作为文化遗产列入《世界遗产名录》。