Maoshan Mountain is located in the southwest of Jiangsu Province, stretching for ten kilometers from north to south with beautiful scenery, which integrates long-standing Taoist culture, glorious revolutionary historical sites and beautiful natural scenery, and is known as the first blessed land of Taoism.
Maoshan Mountain, the birthplace of Shangqing School of Taoism, is called “Altar of Shangqing School” by Taoists, and has the reputation of “the blessed land and the eighth heavenly abode”. There are many Taoist temples on the mountain, among which Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace and Yuanfu Wanning Palace are the most well-known. The lush trees, rugged rocks, steep cliffs and quiet caves on the mountain have formed the beautiful scenery of “nine peaks, nineteen springs, twenty-six caves and twenty-eight pools”, which has made Maoshan Mountain elegant and mysterious.
[Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace]
Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace is located on the top of Damao Peak, the main peak of Maoshan Mountain, so it is also called Peak Palace. It was built after Immortal Sanmao attained enlightenment and rose to the heaven, and it has a history of more than 2100 years.
[Xike Spring]
Xike Spring is located in the northwest of Damao Peak, and named Xike Spring because the spring bubbles with applause. Here, ancient trees, sacred springs, historical sites, pavilions and porches together form a natural landscape painting, which embodies the Taoist thought of “harmony between man and nature”.
[Huayang Cave]
Huayang Cave is the so-called “the eighth heavenly abode”. Cave here refers the place that bridges the earth and immortals or celestial worlds in Taoism. The spring water in the cave is bubbling, the stalactites have various shapes, the trees outside the cave are luxuriant, the air is fresh, and the negative oxygen ion content is high. From the perspective of health preservation in nature, it can be regarded as the place “gathering the aura of heaven and earth”.
[Yuanfu Wanning Palace]
It is located in Jijin Peak. At Maoshan Temple Fair, men and women who come to pray will ask Taoist priests to affix the “seal of Immortal Jiulaoxiandu” on their sachets or belts, which means eliminating disasters and bringing happiness to life. Therefore, the palace is also called “Seal Palace”.
[Immortals Cave]
Immortals Cave is a limestone cave with winding roads and numerous scenic spots, most of which are sites where ancient people cultivated vital energy. Legend has it that some people have become immortals here, so it is called “Immortals Cave”.
