Chinese pilgrimage activity initially originated from natural worship in primitive religion, but large-scale and organized pilgrimage-to-mountain activities started from and ceremonies of worship of Heaven and Earth during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Altars were built both on the top of and at the foot of Mt. Tai to offer sacrifice to Heaven and Earth respectively. After the Kingdom of Qin eliminated the other six kingdoms, the political power of the six kingdoms did not completely disappear. Qin Shihuang made an inspection tour to Mt. Tai and made inscription carved in stone to express his wish that his subjects behaved themselves obediently and complied with rules and responsibilities, which clearly uncovered hid political purposes. But the pilgrimages made by Emperor Wu in the Han Dynasty to Mt. Tai were from hid belief of supernatural. In the Historical records mentioned that Emperor Wu held a ceremony when Emperor Wu was on the throne. The two emperors chose famous mountain to hold ceremonies to sing their exploits, which exerted deep impact on the emperors of later generations.

        The pilgrimage activities in Mt. Wudang could trace back to the period from the late stage of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. And the majority were carried out by the believers in a form of training and cultivating themselves to attain immortality. In the late Han Dynasty, due to political reasons, a number of people that once served in the imperial palace went to Mt. Wudang to learn to attain immortality and lived in seclusion in the mountain.

        During the period of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the emperors believed in Emperor Zhen Wu. Thus, the worship to Zhen Wu changed from animal adore into personality adore. The activities of pilgrimages to Mt. Wudang became quite flourishing. After Yaojian's successful pray for rain, Emperor Taizong made a temple built for people to worship. Later, Chen Tuan lived in seclusion in Mt. Wudang. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty constructed the purple Heaven Palace. Mt. Wudang therefore became a famous fairyland.

        In the Yuan Dynasty, as a fairy place for Emperor Xuan's ascending to heaven, Mt. Wudang drew great concern from Taoist site for the coincidence that Emperor Renzong shared the same birthday with Emperor Xuan. The Grand Sacrificial Ceremony participated by imperial family members was not only large in scale and high in frequency, but also long in time and profound of influence. It further propelled the worship to Emperor Zhen Wu (Emperor Xuan) from high-rank officials and noble lords to folk people. March 3 rd and September 9 th in Chinese lunar calendar have both become festivals for mountain pilgrimages and incense-offering. Pilgrims gathered at Mt. Wudang from all directions. They brought a great number of sesame oil and local products that provided a material base for the religious development.

        In the Ming Dynasty, Mt. Wudang was conferred a title as the Grand Mountain and became the place for the imperial court to worship Emperor Xuan. The pilgrimage activities in Mt. Wudang by the imperial court were held frequently, with a minimum of several times or a maximum of ten times a year. From Emperor Chengzu, all the newly-enthroned emperors would send imperial commissioners to Mt. Wudang to hold grand sacrificial ceremony praying for the populace. Everywhere the commissioners went, welcoming ceremony was held by local officers. In the Yongle 22 nd year(1424). Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty ordered the Taoist Master of the 44 th generation and Ren Ziyuan who was in charge of the Yuxu Temple to hold a 7-day-night grand ceremony to celebrate the completion of constructing Taoist temples and palaces in Mt. Wudang. Over 1,000 relevant officers at different levels took part in the event. In the Jiajing 5 th year(1526), Emperor Shizong ordered the Taoist Master of the 48 th generetion and officer Wu Shangli to Mt. Wudang to hold sacrificial ceremony celebrating "the completion of the Grand Ceremony"(Emperor Shizong succeeded to the throne as a monarch. Later, despite of the objection from the countries, he conferred posthumously a title to his father as Emperor Gongruixian. The event was called "the Grand Ceremony".) 460 Taoist priests joined the construction work of the grand sacrificial ceremony. Also participating in the construction were tens of hundreds of officers of different ranks from varied places. Besides the emperor, other imperial family members including empresses and imperial concubines also made pilgrimages to Mt. Wudang, holding grand sacrificial ceremonies and spending a great deal of money. The behavior of the imperial family inevitably influenced the ministers. And there were also quite a lot of pilgrims from the folk. Many historical records vividly portrayed the magnificent scene while people were make pilgrimages to Mt. Wudang.

        The pilgrims were from different places across the country. By land, "Pilgrims from Sichuan came to the mountain via Fang(today's Fangxian county), Pilgrims from Shanxi came via Yun(Today's Yunxian county) and those from the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River came via Xiang(today's Xiangfan city)." (The Annals of the Grand Mountain Taihe) For the waterway, pilgrims mainly came to Junzhou by the capital in the north and Suzhou and Hangzhou in the south with Mt. Wudang. When officers from the capital made pilgrimages to Mt. Wudang, they sometimes were accompanied by almost 80 ships. It was recorded that in every lunar February, pilgrims to Mt. Wudang from Suzhou were accompanied by above 100 ships. And the Lianrong Lake in Wuxi had become the assemble place for seven counties including Taicang, Wujiang, Kunshan, Changshu, Jiading and Chongming. When boats all gathered in the lake, they would start the journey to Mt. Wudang together. The day before departure, grand ceremony was always held. Every pilgrimage boat raised the mast and every pilgrim hung a lantern over the boat. Boats were linked together and lanterns were joined one by one, which looked like colorful bridges dotted by shinning stars. Then firework show started. Instantaneously, the dazzling displays of fireworks and lanterns decorated the boatss, the sky and the water,forming magnificent scenery. At the time, local officers and prominent families all went out home to enjoy the beautiful scene by boats. The number of lantern-sightseeing boats sometimes reached over 1,000. Lanterns and fireworks cast list upon the lake and the water shone red. On the north bank of the Lianrong Lake, there was a business-flourishing district which was called "Beitang". Hence, there came the name of "Beitang Pilgrimage Lantern".

        The Beitang Pilgrimage Lantern had transferred to annual on-water gathering in Wuxi during the late period of the Ming Dynasty. The mountain pilgrimage activities turned into a jubilant festival warmly welcomed by the populace. The worship to Emperor Zhen Wu and the pilgrimage therefore deeply went into the folk people.

        During the period from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Mt. Wudang Taoism gradually declined due to the lack of official support. But the worship to Emperor Zhen Wu and the pilgrimage-to-mountain had been widely accepted by the populace and turned into a folk custom. A few emperors also joined in, Emperor Kangxi twice sent people to Mt. Wudang to sacrifice the God of Xuantian(Emperor Zhen Wu). And Emperor Qianlong made Mt. Wudang exempt from the incense tax. But the extraordinary grandeur of the past could not be found any more. In comparison with the imperial family, the folk devotees showed a keen determination despite of all kinds of hardship. According to the Annals of the Grand Mountain Wudang, people that made pilgrimage to Mt. Wudang in the Qing Dynasty were from Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hubei and other places. The incense-offering people developed into different groups, which were called company of Taoist pilgrims. The company selected a person as the head, who was in charge of the organization for the annual mountain pilgrimage. Meanwhile, influenced by other folk religions, the company of pilgrims took shape in some etiquette and custom. The first was to sacrifice the company flag and select the propitious date for pilgrimage. The second was to organize pilgrims. And the third was to collect money as the incense-offering needed in the pilgrimage. Before the departure, grand banquette and sacrificial ceremony for heaven and earth would be held. On the way of pilgrimage, four young men in golden armour with flags in their hands cleared the way. Head of the company followed them, holding the command flag. Behind it, there were the embroidered flags. Colorful cloth strips with believers' names were hung over the flags. They were also called "Ten-thousand-people-umbrella". Censers were set up under the umbrella. Incense was burned constantly all the way. Following was the band, then the offerings. The incense-offering believers were at the end of the procession. Each believer carried a ellow cloth wrapper, in which there were paper and silk for worship. The pilgrimage procession beat drums and blew trumpets all the way, exerting a lively atmosphere. Currently, there still exist several hundreds of merit tablets and a great amount of believers' offerings dated from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. Varied customs one step and then kowtowed once. They constantly kowtowed until they reached the Golden Zenith. After worshipping the Taoism founder, they used the incense ash in the temple to stop the blooding of the forehead. It was called "long kowtow". Some believers were barebacked and a small sword was pricked through the cheeks, which was called"locking the mouth". Each of them lifted censers in both hands and was supported by two men. In front of them, other believers beat the gongs and cleared the way, calling out"There comes the man burning big incense".Running widely from the foot of the mountain to the Golden Zenith, they worshiped Emperor Zhen Wu. Then the head of the temple pulled out the mouth-locking sword, used the incense ash to stop the blooding and wrote down the name, birthplace and wishes of the big-incense-burning believer on the book for recording contribution. The next day, the head of the temple wrote memorial to send the believer's wish to heaven, which was called"burning big incense". Some believers who were filial towards their parents would burn incense on the Golden Zenith. Beneath it, there is the abyss. The incense-burning man should walk forward till he reached the dragon head. Standing on the precipitous dragon body, he should pay religious homage to the Golden Zenith, burn three joss sticks and insert them into the censers on the dragon head and then slowly move back. It was called"burning dragon head incense". The whole thrilling process let people feel tremble with terror. Wudang Taoim exerts great influence on Southeastern Asian, especially on Taiwan. According to historical records, Zheng Chenggong, a general in the Ming Dynasty deeply believed in the God of Xuantian. He sacrifices before every battle. After he successfully recovered Taiwan, General Zheng brought his worship to the God of Xuantian to the region. According to the textual research made by Mr. Lin Daoheng in Taiwan, the God of the Pole Xuantian was also called Emperor Zhen Wu. At the late stage of the Ming Dynasty when Zheng Chenggong conquered Taiwan, he successively built the Small God Temple and the region, and Zheng encouraged the folk's worship. Therefore, quite a number of ancient temples for the God of Xuantian can be found in Tiawan nowadays. Meanwhile, Toaist priests were sent to further carry forward Taoism during its development course of Wudang Taoism. Records proved that in the Kangxi 26 th year(1687), the three brothers of the Hong Family in Gucheng of Hubei who were Taoist priests of the Zhengyi Sect of Mt. Wudang went to Taiwan by ship and built temples to worship the God of Xuantian. In the Qianlong 22 nd Year of the Qing Dynasty(1757), Taoist priests came to Taiwan by ship from Fujian. They also constructed temples to worship the God of Xuantian. Additionally, among the immigrants to Taiwan from Fujian and Guangdong, many were believers to the God of Xuantian. They also brought the belief to Taiwan. In the Shunzhi 14 th year of the Qing Dynasty (1657), people f the four names of Li, Lin, Chen and Fu in Fujian transferred to Taiwan. Living in Songboling, they were also worshippers to Emperor Xuandi. In the Kangxi 20 th year (1681), they donated money and built the Temple for Emperor Xuandi. In 1937, the temple was extended to a four-storeyed temple. And in 1976, it was extended again. The ancestors of the residents in Taiwan were mainly from Fujian and Guangdong. In order to bless peace while crossing the ocean, they were all accompanied by the god statues and joss sticks. When safely arrived, they built temples in succession so as to thank for the god's protection. The temples were also used to maintain the unity and safety of the clansman.

        It is learned that there are over 4,700 temples with formal registration in Taiwan, many of which worship the God of Xuantian. More than 30,000 people from Taiwan have come to Mt. Wudang for pilgrimage in recent years. Together with the Taoist Association of Mt. Wudang, they are making uncased efforts in further carrying forward the Taoist culture of China. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mt. Wudang was listed as the national key scenic spot and many of its temples have been classified as the national key protected cultural relic unit. In 1994, the ancient building complex in the Wudang Mountain was listed as the World Cultural Heritage. With attention from Hubei Province, Shiyan County and the Municipal Government of Danjiangkou, Mt. Wudang established the government of the special zone and built the roads and cableway for going up the mountain. The Department of Culture Relics and the Taoist Association of Mt. Wudang have repaired a number of ancient buildings. The government also has built related tourist auxiliary facilities and offered multiple tourist services including one day to four days travel. The mountain has turned into a national famous tourist scenic spot.

        With its magnificent and marvelous humane scenery, Mt. Wudang enjoys a reputation for its abundant but unique culture. All of these are out of the naturally-borne beauty of the mountain and the immortal spirit of Taoism formed in its tens of hundreds of years of history. People, no matter tourists or pilgrims, can only look up Mt. Wudang, which is covered by a mysterious veil.