The oldest Taoist temple in Wudang Mountain is now overgrown with grass and quiet without tourists.
Wudang Mountain is a famous Taoist mountain and the birthplace of Wudang martial arts, and is known as the Holy Land of Taoism. In Wudang Mountain, the most famous palace is undoubtedly Lingxiao Palace, but in fact, there is a palace in Wudang Mountain that is older than Lingxiao Palace, and that is the Five Dragons Palace.
The Five Dragons Palace was built hundreds of years earlier than the Lingxiao Palace. At its peak, there were as many as 850 halls. It is a royal Taoist temple that has survived hundreds of years of wind and frost and is hidden under the Five Dragons Peak of Wudang Mountain. . Although it still exists, most visitors today are unaware of its existence. Even if someone has learned about that period of history out of interest, they also know the existence of Wulong Palace, but they have not had the chance to see its true appearance because it has experienced many fires and is always being repaired.
If you want to go to Wulong Palace from Wudang Mountain, you must first reach Wulong Peak. Although the names are very similar, the distance between them is quite far! Even if you drive, it takes nearly an hour to reach the foot of Wulong Peak. When we arrived at Wulong Peak, we almost thought we were in a wilderness. It was full of dilapidated walls and colorful gravel scattered everywhere. It was really a standard feature of the barren mountains. Fortunately, we saw the stone steps and the sign of "Five Dragon Palace" that were obviously repaired by just people, otherwise we would really be disappointed.
The location of Wulong Palace is very hidden. At first, we saw the sign of the stone tablet and thought that the place we were in was the ruins of Wulong Palace. However, as we walked slowly along the Jiuqu Yellow River wall next to it, we discovered that there was a cave inside. Passing through a particularly ancient mountain gate, what comes into view is a brick-red stone wall, which inherently carries a unique sense of royal solemnity. Although the stone wall has become mottled, the patterns carved on the stone wall are still there. It can be clearly seen that it is similar in scale to the Nine Dragon Wall in the Forbidden City, but the Nine Dragon Wall is famous all over the world, but the patterns here can only be hidden here to admire in isolation.
Passing through the nine-curved red wall and then stepping up the steps, your eyes suddenly become empty and bright, and you can see a stone turtle carrying an inscription, which is a gift from the emperor. The construction of Wulong Palace was strictly based on Feng Shui, "Green Dragon on the left, White Tiger on the right, Suzaku on the front, Xuanwu on the back." This typical idea of Feng Shui is fully reflected in the construction of the Five Dragon Palace.
Passing through the small square, and then passing the Dragon and Tiger Palace, after several searches, I finally found the true appearance of the Five Dragon Palace. There is a huge square in front of the temple. The building on the left has collapsed, which shows the dilapidation and decline of the place. Unfortunately, it is still under construction and cannot be visited. But we can't go inside Wulong Palace. He is repairing it most of the time, so we can only look outside.
Some people rumored that the Taoist priests were the five dragons of Taishang Laojun and lived in the well. The emperor was very happy to hear that, so he built the "Five Dragons Temple" here. The Five Dragons Palace continues to this day. At its peak, there were as many as 850 palaces.
The current defeat is in sharp contrast to the heyday at that time. It seems difficult for us today to imagine its grand scene back then, but the smooth threshold, the grandeur of the hall, and the solemn murals on the wall seem to Still telling its history of thousands of years. Although Wulong Palace has been dilapidated and decayed, its status in the history of Wudang Mountain can never be replaced.
It was already evening when we left Wulong Palace, and our mood was a bit heavy at this time. This is the oldest Taoist temple in Wudang Mountain. Now it is overgrown with grass and has no tourists. In this regard, what do you think of this Five Dragons Palace? Do you also want to see the real face?