Maoshan is a famous Taoist mountain in China and the birthplace of Shangqing sect of Taoism. It has the reputation of "the first blessed place, the eighth cave". Maoshan Taoism has a very long history, which has been recorded as early as 5000 years ago, and has a very high position in the history of Chinese local religion Taoism. Today's Maoshan is a national AAAAA scenic spot, attracting many tourists to Maoshan. But when you go for a tour, you will find that Maoshan scenic spot is divided into two parts. What's the matter?
Maoshan is located in the southwest of Jiangsu Province, at the junction of Jurong City and Jintan City. At present, Maoshan scenic area is also divided into two parts: Jurong Maoshan and Jintan Maoshan. The commonly used Maoshan refers to Jurong Maoshan, of which Jurong Maoshan is a national 5A scenic spot and Jintan Maoshan is a national 4A scenic spot. Although it is a mountain, the level is different, and the ticket price is also different. The ticket price of Jintan Maoshan is 50, that of Jurong Maoshan is 80 in off-season, and that of peak season is 100.
In front of the gate of Maoshan Taoist temple, you can see a descending staircase. There are two striking lines at the entrance, and the dividing line between the two scenic spots is one step apart. Because there are still many tourists who are not in love. They originally wanted to go to Jurong Maoshan but bought tickets to Jintan Maoshan. After all, Jurong Maoshan is the core scenic spot of Maoshan, and many people come to Maoshan Taoist temple.
Maoshan Taoist temple is the core part of the whole Maoshan mountain. According to the records, there were 257 Taoist temples and more than 5000 rooms in the most prosperous period of Maoshan Taoism. However, most of the Taoist temples were destroyed by the war, leaving only broken walls everywhere. Later, jiuxiao Wanfu palace and Yuanfu Wanning palace were restored and rebuilt, which is also the Maoshan Taoist temple that can be seen at present.
Passing through the gate, you come to jiuxiao Wanfu palace, also known as jiuxiao palace. It is located at the top of the main peak of Maoshan mountain, which is more than 370 meters above sea level. The whole jiuxiao palace faces south. The whole Mountain Gate looks very grand. There are two towering iron pillars in front of the gate. In the middle of each pillar is a tool similar to a stove. I guess it may be used to make a fire.
When you enter through the door, you will see a courtyard like a quadrangle. According to the records, jiuxiao palace in its prosperous period had the Sutra Pavilion, the second Pavilion of Shengshi, the fifth Hall of Longwang, daoshe, Hakka hall, and a large number of zhongbi, qiayun, Yuxiang and so on. Although the restored jiuxiao palace was not as brilliant as it was at that time, it was not so bad. The Sutra Pavilion, Lingguan hall, taiyuanbao hall, Ersheng hall, daoshe Zhaitang and so on have been rebuilt. In addition, the incense in the Taoist temple is very strong, and the residents at the foot of the surrounding mountains basically come here to offer incense.
In the last courtyard, also the highest platform of Mount Everest and the building complex, there is a platform, which is called "feixiantai". This is the place where Taoist practitioners ascended to immortality after they got the Tao. It is said that the founder of Maoshan sect ascended to immortality from here. At this time, the fog around is getting heavier and heavier, which gives people the illusion of being in a fairyland.
After visiting Wanfu palace in jiuxiao, I came to Wanning palace in Yuanfu by car. Because of its beautiful mountains and rivers, grotesque rocks and caves, it is called the blessed land of the land of fortune. After the reconstruction, Wanning palace of Yuanfu is very large in scale. When you climb up the stairs, you can see that many temples and courtyards are connected. In particular, the seven magnificent characters of "chici Wanning palace of Yuanfu" in front of the door are particularly eye-catching.
Passing through the gate, the view becomes wider. You can see one square after another built according to the mountain. You can come to Wanshou terrace along the stairs. There is a stone square in the middle of Wanshou Terrace: three heavenly gates. The relief on the stone square is particularly exquisite.
Looking through the three-day gate, the statue of Laozi standing on the top of the mountain shocked all the visitors. The statue of Laozi is 33 meters high and weighs more than 100 tons. It is the largest open-air statue of Laozi in the world. It is reported that 226 pieces of bronze were used to build the statue. The statue of Laozi looks into the distance, which makes people feel kind and solemn.