The earliest religions construction in Mt.Wudang was built during the earlier period of the Tang Dynasty. According to related records, in the period of the Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty(627-649), Junzhou encountered severe drought. Yaojian, a messenger in Mt.Wudang prayed for rain in the area. What he did made a five dragons present and timely rain fell all over the district. Emperor Taizong made the Five-Dragon Temple built to express appreciation. Another two shrines of "Taiyi"and "Yanchang" were built during the period from Zhide to Dali (756-779). And the Invincible Wugong New Temple built in the 3 rd year of Qianning(896).

        Zhao Heng, Emperor Zenzong of the North Song Dynasty, had great esteem for Taoism. In the 2 nd year of Tianxi(1018), he issued an imperial order to change the shrines into temples. In the 6 th year of Zhenhe (1116),the Purple Heaven Temple and the Five-Dragon Temple were built. The Taoist building on the whole mountain formed a certain scale. In the Qingyuan 6 th year of the South song Dynasty(1200), soldiers of the Jin Kingdom advanced south. Official Sunci in Junzhou moved office to the Purple Heaven Temple in Mt.Wudang, based on which, they had fought against the Jin Kingdom for 16 years. Later, the Song Dynasty perished and the majority of Taoist buildings on Mt.Wudang were destroyed by the war.

        During the earlist days after Emperor Shizu Kublai of the Yuan Dynasty had come into the throne, Zhang Yuchu, the Taoist Master of the 43 rd generation, sent the emperor a magic figure with characters of "Heaven Beating is in Yuan". Therefore, the emperor utilized Taoism to stabilize the South. In the Zhiyuan 12 th year (1275), Taoist rites on Mt.Wudang were reopened. Taoist priest Lu Dayou led priest Zhang Shouqing, together with other priests, constructed buildings at the South Crag by means of chiseling the cliff. In the Zhiyuan 23 rd year (1286), Kublai issued an imperial order to change the temples into palaces. Form September of 1286 to March the next year, no rain had fallen in the capital. The empress dowager sent commissioner to invite Taoist priest Zhang shouqing from Mt.Wudang to pray for rain. The endeavors succeded and the empress dowager donated money to construct the South Crag Palace. Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty shared the same birthday with Emperor Zhen Wu. In 1312, he granted an additional title to the Five-Dragon Palace and extended the Zhen Wu Hall. During the period of Yangyou, Zhang shouqing had prayed for rain at Mt.Wudang for several times in response of the imperial orders of the empress dowager. With his meritorious services. Zhang Shouqing was bestowed a title of True Man of Taihe. High officials and noble lords consecutively donated money to construct different buildings. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, rock temples of different sizes were constructed at 36 crags on the whole mountain. In the Hongwu 15 th year of the Ming Dynasty (1382), the Department of Taoist Records was set up. Taoism was divide into two sects of Zhengyi and Quanzhen. The position of the Commander-in-Chief was set up in Mt.Wudang to take charge of the religious affairs of the mountain. In 1391, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty passed away, the crown grandson Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne. He was called Emperor Huidi, with the reign title of Jianwen. In 1399, Emperor Huidi, with the reign title of Jianwen. In 1399, Emperor Huidi canceled the vassal states. Zhu Di, the king of the Yan State, raised troops to resist. After three years' war, Zhu Di conquered Nanjing. Emperor Jianwen fled and Zhu Di came to the throne, with a reign title of Yongle.

        At the early stage of the Yongle period, the Political public opinions were quite disadvantageous to Zhu Di because he came into power with armed might. He suffered a lot from strife". Especially, the former officials of Emperor Jianwen never came over and pledged allegiance to him. In order to strengthen his political power and pacify the will of the people, on one hand, Emperor Yongle announced that he ceased the searched for theoretical bases. Just in the Yongle 3 rd year(1405) and 4 th year (1406), Taoist priest Li Suxi from the Five-Dragon Palace of Mt.Wudang twice sent people to present fairy Langmei fruits to the emperor to declare that the country was in peace. Feeling quite satisfied, the emperor summoned Li Suxi. Form Li, the emperor especially summoned Jian Zhongyang, another Taoist priest from Mt.Wudang was the place where Xuan Wu, the God of the North ascended to Heaven. Later, the emperor especially summoned Jian Zhongyang, another Taoist priest from Mt. Wudang and inquired details concerning the God of the North. After fine consideration, Emperor Yongle decided to build Mt.Wudang and inquired details concerning the God of the North. After fine consideration, Emperor Yongle decided to build Mt.Wudang and organized a kind of public opinion of "a combination of Heaven and human-being" and "sovereignty bestowed by God" so as to further strengthen his political power.

        In march of the Yongle 10 th year, Zhu Di issued two imperial decrees and sent Sun Biyun to make on-the-spot survey at Mt.Wudang. In July the same year, the planning work was ready. On Juny 11 th , Emperor Yongle promulgated an imperial decree on appointing related officials, soldiers and craftsmen. It said "As a famous mountain in the country, Mt.Wudang is the place for Xuantian Zhen Wu, the God of the North to ascend to Heaven. Different temple were once built in varied dynasties but burned and destroyed by mutinous soldiers during the late stage of the Yuan Dynasty. Here comes to my dynasty, the spirit of the God of the North is surrounding us and blessing the country and its people . During my first days after ceasing the rebellion by order from Heaven. I greatly felt the presence of the spirit. I once made up my mind to build palaces and temples in Beijing, but the wish could not be fulfilled due to the constant internal troubles. During the early days after I have succeeded to the throne. I thought that Mt.Wudang is the right place for Zhen Wu. The construction has been delayed because I wanted soldiers and civilians to have a rest after the war. Now it's just the time for me to appoint relevant officials, soldiers and civilians to build palaces and temples in Mt.Wudang to thank for the favor of the God and pray for good fortune for my commissioners to lead 200,000 soldiers. Civilians and craftsmen to go to Mt.Wudang to construct Taoist rites.

        The constructing project started on September 18 th of the Yongle 10 th year (1412)and ended on February 19 th of the 22 nd year(1424). With a time span of 13 years. Nine palaces of the Jingle Palace. The Yuzhen Palace, the Yuxu Palace, the Five-Dragon palace ,the Purple Heaven Palaces, the South Crag Palace, the Huilong Temple, the Renwei Temple, the weilie Temple, the Temple of the Eight Immortals, the Dragon Fountain Temple and the Taichang Temple were built. And the constructions formed the grand building complex on Mt.Wudang.

        During the construction of the whole project, Emperor Yongle laid emphasis on several big factors.

        Firstly, in respect to the guiding thought of the integral planning, the emperor changed the former fortunate place for Zhen Wu to command the land under heaven. The previous activity centre of the purple Heaven Palace, the South Crag Palace and the Five-Dragon Palace was extended to the Peak of Heaven Pillar. A new structure was formed which centralized on the Golden Palace and was in a conformity with buildings on the whole mountain.

        In respect to the internal layout, the Golden Place was constructed on the top of the peak of Heaven Pillar,1,612 meters above sea leavel. Possessing the highest position, it imposes people with a feeling of "overlooking all the land under heaven".

        Secondly, the emperor himself paid great attention on the casting of the Golden Palace. In the Yongle 10 th year (1412), the project started. All the casting for the palace to transport the castings to Mt.Wudang safely, the emperor decided to send army to convoy them. On lunar September 9 th of the Yongle 14 th year (1416), Zhu Di issued the imperial decree to Commander-in-chief He Jun. It said "Now, I order you to convoy the ships carrying the castings for the Golden Palace to Nanjing. You should be very favourable wind can sail the ships. The ships arrived, the local officials unexceptionally held ceremony for welcoming and seeing-off by burning incense. The castings were convoyed to the foot of Mt.Wudang via the Changjiang River and the Danjiang River. Thirdly, great concern was attached to the construction of the Peak of Heaven Pillar. In order to imitate the wonderful scenery of the Jade Capital in heaven, the platform foundation of the Golden Palace was carved by laying granite, and all sides were decorated by white-stone-made railing. After the arrival of the Golden Palace on the Peak of Heaven Pillar, Zhu Di decided to construct the Forbidden City. In the Yongle 17 th year (1419), Zhu Di issued an imperial decree. It said " Wall around the Golden Palace in the Grand Mountain of Supreme Harmony should be built. But the mountain itself needs no renovation. The height of the wall goes along with the height of the terrain. No matter what scale is adopted, the standard is that people can not get by the wall. The wall must be solid enough so as to maintain the same permanence as that of both the heaven and the earth." The Forbidden City was constructed with stones of 500 kilograms each in weight. Set up in the four directions were stone-carved gates, which symbolized the Gate of Heaven, and finally, a fairyland on earth came into being.

        In order to pass on the inheritance of the imperial temples permanently, Emperor Yongle decreed to send 3,123 prisoners of 550 households to Mt.Wudang. Every household was allocated with 50 mu idle land and asked to hand in seven dans of grain, tea, salt and cotton as offerings to the palaces and temples every year. Meanwhile, people in Jinzhou were exempt from the military service and related taxation. Special army was arranged to make inspection tours to fields on the mountain and servants were sent to clean and maintain the palaces and temples and bake bricks and tiles. Zhang Yuqing, the Taoist Master of the 44 th generation, received the emperor's imperial order to dispatch senior Taoist priests of high reputation to take charge of different palaces and temples in the mountain.

        Emperor Yongle, through the above-mentioned measures, wisely changed the Taoism of Mt.Wudang into an imperial ancestral temple,especially enshrining and worshipping Emperor Zhen Wu. He also successfully accomplished his political sermon of "Sovereignty bestowed by Heaven" and "Ruling by decree from Heaven". He eliminated the political and attained his goal of using religion to permanently strengthen the power.

        After Emperor Chengzu, his descendants always treated Mt.Wudang as the imperial ancestral temple where the ancestor pioneered and the gods rested. Whenever a new emperor came into the throne, he unexceptionally imitated the ancestors' deeds. Court eunuchs were sent to make pilgrimage to Mt.Wudang as the imperial commissioners, and the taxation paid by Junzhou was utilized in the imperial commissioners. And the taxation paid by Junzhou was utilized in repairing the palaces and temples. Especially during the mid Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shizong, Zhu Houzong twice rebuilt Mt.Wudang.

        Why did Emperor Shizong rebuild the moutain? On October 21 st of the Jiajing 21 st year, Yang Jinying, a maid in the imperial palace could not bear Emperor Shizong's maltreat. She tried to scrag the emperor to death with a silk Emperor Shizong's maltreat. She tried to scrag the emperor to death with a silk ribbon while the emperor was in a doze after drinking. But the silk ribbon was tied into a slipknot, so the emperor was not killed and saved by the empress. Yang Jinying together with other people were put to death. In the Jiajing 29 th year (1550), a governor had secret communication withy Tartar. And one of the Tartar's tribes reached the city wall of Beijing. Fortunately, the tribe only aimed at plundering but not attacked the city. After plundering in the outskirts of the city for four days, the tribe withdrew itself. With two experiences of ill luck turning into good, the emperor who had believed in Taoism became more pious. Before coming into the throne, Emperor Shizong had not been the crown prince. As the blood cousin of Emperor Wuzong had no son. Emperor Shizong thought that this was also partially because of the blessing and protection from Emperor Zhen Wu. Therefore, he decided to rebuild Mt.Wudang.

        In February of the Jiajing 31 st year (1552), Emperor Shizong issued an imperial decree to send officials to Mt.Wudang to inspect palaces and temples needing maintenance, estimate the expenditure and feedback the situation to relevant department within 40 days. On April 15 th , the emperor allocated silver of over 10,000 liang as the expenses for rebuilding Mt.Wudang. Ninety-nine officers took the charge of supervising the project. Army men, civilians and craftsmen from over 60 prefectures and counties in Hubei and Hunan were ready for dispatch. The project started in June of the Jiajiang 31 st year (1512) and was completed in October the next year.

        The key items to be repaired were large-sized palaces of Taihe, South Crag, Five-Drago, Yuxu, Yuzhen, Ying'en and Jingle, and temples of Yuanhe, Fuzhen, Huilong, Renwei, Eight-immortal and Weilie, and some attached rock temples, Taoist convents and some bridges.

        The rebuilding of Mt.Wudang by Emperor Shizong did not just maintain the temples constructed under the decree of Emperor Yongle, but also further replenished buildings on the mountain. He enriched the key palaces. What should be especially pointed out was that the establishment of the Xuanyue stone memorial gateway, which finally consummated the pattern of the imperial ancestral temples.

        During the period of Yongle, the boundary for the scope of Mt.Wudang approximately was the Yuxu Palace, from which, up was the mysterious mountain and down was the human world. There was no distinct mark. In his plan, Emperor Shizong laid emphasis on building the Xuanyue Gate. He made a stone memorial gateway built which was 15 li away from the Yuxu palace. The emperor himself inscribed "Country-administering Mountain" on the stone memorial gateway, Wudang Taoism. Once again it showed the special position of Mt.Wudang as the imperial ancestral temple. What was more important was that the pattern of the ancestral temple was ameliorated, making the top-mountain and the foot-mountain distinguished. It not only strengthened the religious field, but also enhanced the momentum of Mt.Wudang. Reaching the Xuanyue Gate, you give your fate to gods. Out of the Xuanyue Gate, you return to be a human."

        During the late Ming Dynasty, eunuchs were in dictatorship. The emperor only continued to implement the preferential conditions for Mt.Wudang set by the ancestors. The public security and the maintenance were directly administered by the locality. Provincial commanders basically were eunuchs. They were psychologically more cordial towards the religion. Whenever big events took place, they unexceptionally made inspection tours to Mt.Wudang on behalf of the emperor. The Taoist buildings of Mt.Wudang received effective maintenance and all the palaces and temples were expanded in different degrees. The mountain was always regarded as the center of Taoism in the country.

        The Taoist architecture of Mt.Wudang had formed certain layout during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The main buildings were arranged in accordance with a Taoist fortunate place. Its religious activities gained the fame for "setting up altars and holding sacrificial ceremony" and "praying for rain and averting disasters". The Fortunate Place centralized on Purple Heaven and extended to palaces and temples on all peaks and crags.

        When Emperor Yongle reconstructed Mt.Wudang on a large sacle, his guiding thought was to utilize the power of the religion and the potential might of the religious authority to serve for the politics. He adjusted the previous layout and created a unique architectural pattern of the imperial ancestral temple.

        1.The overall layout of a combination of the religions authority and the worldly monarchical power.

        The religious authority and the monarchical power were two mainstay of the feudal society. It was a habitual practice of the emperors of all the dynasties to propagate that the monarchic power was bestowed by god. Emperor Yongle fought from Beijing to Nanjing and came into the throne as the crown prince. It coincided with the legend that the Zhen Wu went to the south where he made his power felt and descended to the world and finally commanded the land under heaven as the crown prince of the Jingle Kingdom. It naturally became the guilding thought of the architectural layout to propagate the idea.

        Construction during the Ming Dynasty was centralized on the Golden Palace. Based on stories that Zhen Wu made his presence and descended to the world, the overall planning was divided into two parts of upper mountain and lower mountain.

        The part of the lower mountain carried out its layout according to the story that Zhen Wu made his presence and was born out by Empress Shansheng of the Jingle Kingdom, applied himself to Taoism with great concentration. The Jingle Palace with an area of 120,000 square meters was firstly constructed in ancient Junzhou, which was likened to the Jingle Kingdom. Built in the palace were the Hall of Crown Prince and the Hall of Holy Parent and other temples and convents. Outside were some attached buildings. With a length of 60 li, an official road made of stones reached Mt.Wudang directly. Dotted along the road were diverse temples and Taoist convents.

        The part of upper mountain was arranged in accordance with the legend that Zhen Wu went to Mt.Wudang to practice asceticism at the age of 15 and was conferred a title by the Jade Emperor after he accomplished the asceticism and finally commanded the land under heaven. When people enter the Xuanyue Gate, they enter the mountain. The YuZhen Palace and the Yuxu Place were two palaces for asceticism. Buildings were constructed at different levels, which symbolized the different stages of Zhen Wu's asceticism. Built upmost were the Heaven-worship Palace, the First, Second and Third Heaven Gates, the Taihe Palace and the Golden Palace, which all were the sites for Zhen Wu to command the land under heaven.

        2.Creating a mysterious place by selecting sites according to the Yin and Yang arts, concerning the natural environment at the same time. In order to make the Taoist buildings in Mt.Wudang similar not only to the imperial places but also the mysterious mountain and jade palaces, Emperor Yongle took two measures. Firstly, felling trees on Mt.Wudang was forbidden. Wood needed in construction was all bought from other places. Special officials were dispatched to Mt.Wudang to take charge of sending persons to Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan and other places to purchase divine wood. The wood then was transported to Mt.Wudang by waterway.

        Secondly, Wang Ming, a famous Yin Yang specialist and Chen Yupeng , a Yin and Yangist were ordered to lead disciples to inspect fengshui and choose the right sites for construction.

        In respect to the existing constructions and the natural environment, the palaces and temples are unexceptionally in harmony to the environment and possess a kind of beauty of mystery and temples are unexceptionally in harmony to the environment and possess a kind of beauty of mystery and tranquility. With meticulous analyses, it is easy to find out that the sites of the buildings on Mt.Wudang were all chosen after repeated explorations and careful comparisons.

        "Bearing Yin and embracing Yang; backed by mountain and faced with water". This is the most basic principle of the concept of "fengshui". According to the geological environment of Mt.Wudang, the fengshui specialists adopted three ways including re-selecting site, adjusting and renovating, and remedying defects.

        New palaces, such as the Yuzhen Palace, the Qingwei Palace and the Taihe Palace, were all chosen at places on slppe or basin and surrounded by mountains. In front of the palaces, there were natural rivers or man -digging pools, which formed a kind of environment of "backed by mountain and faced with water".

        The way of adjustment and renovation was adopted in the already-existing palaces. The original buildings of the Five-Dragon Palace and the Purple Heaven Palace were not large in size. Although located on basins surrounded by mountains, the two mountains of Black Dragon and White Tiger respectively of left and right did nbot have a favourable terrain. Therefore, the East and West Palaces were built on the left and right sides so as to shouted\n the distance to the two mountains. The Dragon and Tiger Hall was moved ahead along the central axis. The originalk palace then turned into the Shifang Hall on the axis. The original palace then turned into the Shifang Hall on the zxis. In this way , the size of the temples was enlarged, which made them bi in better harmony to the surrounding grand mountains. And the Dragon and Tiger Hall extended to the valley brook, which helped gather qi. The Wudang nountain ranges mostly run from northe to south. Among them, there are two faults. The scenic spots, due to religious contents, must keep some distance from each other . and the geological environment exerted considerable testraints on constructions. In order to ease the cobntrdiction, specialists appli9ed to remedy defects and enhance strong points.

        The second place that people meet after entering the mountain is the Yuxu Palace. According to the requirementws of the mountain-entering routes, the palace must receive people in their face. Therefore, it could only be built towards north, which was quite adisadvantage in protedting "qi". Thus, three wa;;s were bio;t arpimd the Yuxu Palace for the purpose of "collecting the wind".

        The original South Crag Palace was on the cliff, where there was short of water and in lack of capacious place to gather wind. Therefore, a set of buildings was established on the northern slope, and a well was dug which solved the problem of water deficiency. The expanded palace complex faced the Five-Dragon Palace and the Taichang Temple.

        The Golden Palace on the Peak of Heaven Pillar is 1,612 meters above sea level. It is the pinnacle of all the peaks and is regarded as the ancestral mountain of all the mountains. Built on the Peak of Heaven Pillar, the Golden Palace faces the east. There is no mountain around it. In an aim to collecting wind and gathering "qi",the Forbidden City was constructed around the peak. Built in the city are four heaven gates of Eastern,Southern,Western and Northern, Only the Southern Heaven Gate can be opened. The other three are artificial ones in order not to let go of "qi".the construction of the Forbiddeb City not only sets off the holy and majestic atmosphere of the Heaven Kingdom by contrast, but also makes the Golden Palace more magnificent. Th has become a bright pearl among the Taoist buildings on Mt.Wudang.

        3."Built artificially,but looking naturally born",a kind of natural artistic skills of Taoism. Taoism believes in "The ways of men are conditioned by those of earth. The ways of earth, by those of heaven. The ways of heaven, by those of Tao,and the ways of Tao,by nature (the self go )." In the apparent meaning, it is a circle. But in respect to its philosophic theory, it reveals that all things go back to nature. Abiding by the ways of nature and making every building look like naturally born and harmonious to men, earth and heaven, it is another feature of the Taoist buildings on Mt.Wudang.

        Mt.Wudang has rather complicated geological strcture and the mountain ranges have sharp elevation drop. How to make men, earth and heaven follow the ways and how to make every palace and temple get its gains it must be planed by applying the natural laws. It's 120 li from the Peak of Heaven Pillar to the ancient Junzhou town, in which the distance between the Junzhou Town and the Xuanyue Gate is 60 li, ascertained as the environment of men; the distance between the Xuanyue Gate and the South Crag is 40 li, ascertained as the environment of earth and that between the South Crag and the Peak of Heaven Pillar is 20 li, ascertained as the environment of heaven. Let's see how nature abide by the ways.

        Man(from Junzhou to the Xuanyue Gate): Earth (from the Xuanyue Gate to the South Cliff): Heaven (from the South Cliff to the Peak of Heaven Pillar)=60:40:20=3:2:1

        One in Taoism is the start point of yang numbers. Everything in the world originates from it. Two in Taoism is the basic unit of yin numbers, which originates from the One. And One plus Two equals to Three. It coincides with Lao Tzu's concept of "Tao gave birth to One. One gave birth to Two. Two gave birth to Three and Three brought out everything. Everything bears Yin and contains Yang on which harmony depends." This philosophic theory of endless life in circulation reflects the simple wish of broadening existence space for mankind.

        The section from the ancient Junzhou towm to the Xuanyue Gate embodies the concept of man. The terrain slopes gently. Groups of small-sized buildings were constructed in every three to five li according to the distance as far as the eye could see, such as the Zhoufu Convent, the Mt.Tai Temple. And groups of large-scale buildings were set up in every eight to ten li in accordance to people's moods, such as the Jingle Palace, the Ying'en palace and the Wuzong Temple. In order to let the building groups echo with each other, a stone road was built running through them. The whole space is full of warmness of the human world, and in complete agreement with tourists' psychological demands.

        The section from the Xuanyue Gate to the South Crag undulates in terrain and is regarded as the sphere of the holy mountain. The holy mountain here refers to the concept of earth. According to movement trend of the mountain ranges, the buildings should be arranged in combination of the slope and the collection of vision field. With thick stone pillars, a grand stone gate with inscriptions of "Country-administering Mountain" rose steeply from level ground. Overlapping upturned eaves tower into the sky and flights of stairs guide the pilgrims and believers to the mysterious high mountains. The Yuzhen Palace, the Yuxu Palace, the Purple Heaven Palace and the South Crag Palace are all located on the tableland in the valley. They are comparatively huge in size, which tallies with the rhythm formed with the undulation of the mountain ranges. Other small-sized building groups, such as the Needle-grinding Well and the Guandi Temple, due to their special outlook and bright colors, turn into a symbol. Hinting and guiding people to go forward.

        The space from of heaven. It starts from the Crow Ridge and passes the Langmei memorial Hall, the Seven-star Tree, the Facing-heaven Palace, the first, second and Third Heaven Gate, the Pilgrimage Gate, the Taihe Palace and finally reaches the Golden Palace. All the buildings launched construction at perilous sites. Peaks of cliffs and mountains were regarded as the turning points for directions and rhythm, on which god temples or heaven gates were built. The buildings create a kind of leap in space, which is psychologically transformed into a call of divinity. It seems that climbers are winding through notes in the mountains and heaven is performing songs praising the eternity of life.

        The theme of Taoism is that through practice and cultivation Taoist priests attain Tao and become immortal. The Taoist constructions must follow this religious demand. The combination pattern emphasizing on quietness and seclusion and the unique construction technique are the main characteristics of the Taoist architectures in Mt.Wudang.

        The Taoist building groups, regardless of their sizes, generally could be divided into the god section, the practicing section and the living section, and according to their practical functions include palaces, temples and dining halls. The combination pattern was that the mountain slopes were enclosed into diverse compounds. Large-sized building groups adopted the means of multi-axis arrangement in construction. The mid-axis is the god section, in which the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the Shifang Hall, the Grand Palace, wings, side halls and the parent Hall were built. The axis on the left was the practicing section, in which, the god halls, classics rooms and bedrooms were built. Each section was surrounded by walls and formed independent space of its own. Buildings in the god section on the mid-aixs are always grand and imposing to enhance the importance of the section. For example, the Yuzhen Palace, the Yuxu Palace and the Purple Heaven Palace all took this combination pattern. With hills behind and openings in front, the palaces are strictly symmetric in the overall arrangement. Dense enclosing walls, high stairs, ring upon ring of compounds and palaces, all of these exert a kind of momentum full of might and dignity.

        For the buildings that could not be constructed symmetrically due to topographical influence, the layout of the zigzag-shaped axis with unevenness on the left and right sides was taken on a narrow tableland on the gentle slope of the Lion Hill. People could only set up the axis along the slope. The Fuzhe Bridge was put up across the stream. Passing the bridge there is a god road, five meters wide and 150 meters long, which directly leads to the First Palace Gate---a side gate. The palace wall brings people to the Second Palace Gate. Across the gate, there is the front Taoist yard. Turning left in the yard, people enter the Dragon and Tiger Hall. Crossing the palace, people step into a quadrangle, in which, the grand palace and the left and right wings were built. Turning left again and crossing the palace gate, people see the right wings were built. Turning left again and crossing the palace gate, people see the Taoist yard of the third ring, where two axes were laid out ,leading to the dining hall and the classics-colledting pavilion respectively. This pattern makes the buildings be undulating and crisscross. It can not only stagger the sunshine dead angels caused by the buildings, but also make it favorable for ventilation and set off the mysterious atmosphere by contrast. This kind of pattern was successfully applied in constructing the South Crag Palace, the Five-Dragon Palace and the Taihe Palace.

        During the period of construction on Mt.Wudang in the Ming Dynasty, skillful craftsmen were transferred from the whole country to the mountain. And a lot of excellent construction techniques were passed on to Mt.Wudang which played a vital role in conquering difficulties in the construction and left us good experiences on taking different measures in accordance with different natural environment.

        The palace buildings are mostly in official style of the north. It is the huge pillars that support the ridgepole, on which claw pillars are set up to prop up the second beam. The second supports the purlin. This pattern creates capacious inner space that is an ideal place for enshrining god statues.

        The Taoist convents and wings have the pattern often seen in the south. Pillars directly support the purlin of the building. It's easy to construct and the buildings have good stability. For the fine inner environment, they were generally applied for Taoist priests to practice and live in.

        For comparatively great buildings, the above-mentioned two patterns were both applied. Possessing features of good stability and flexibility, they were always used as religious sites and living sections. Terrain and composition of the soil vary greatly in mountains region. Regarding to different conditions, corresponding techniques should be adopted.

        Platform pattern. Platform is a kind of ancient architectural pattern, enjoying a momentum of dignity. According to various requirements, there are three kinds of platform constructions on Mt.wudang. the first is high platforms, which were mainly built in front of the grand hall. A high platform is enclosed by stone railing, forming an imposing grandeur, such as the high platforms in the Yuxu Palace, the Purple Heaven Palace and the South Crag Palace. The second one is moon platforms. It refers to kind of protruding platform in front of the grand hall. Enclosed by stone railing on one side, the platforms are often used for Taoist priests' outdoor asceticism practicing. They play a good transition role in space, such as the grand hall moon platforms of the Fuzhen Temple, the Yuzhen Palace and the Taishan Temple. The Yuzhen Palace and the Taishan Temple. The third one is god platform is surrounded by stone railings on three sides and stone stairs were built on the other side, connecting with the god road. The Thank-expressing Platform on the Crow Ridge, the Flying-to-Heaven Platform on the South Crag and the Dressing Table Platform on the South Crag and the Dressing Table Platform are all of this kind.

        Architectural pattern of projecting house. It is often seen in minority nationalities' region in mountain areas, and always built on the mountain slope. Half of the house is on the high slope and the other half is hung in the air, supported by stone pillar. The projecting buildings in Mt.Wudang mostly have three to five stories and are used for Taoist priests to live in or collecting classics, such as the Five-Storeyed Building of the Fuzhen Temple and the Classics-collecting Pavilion of the South Crag Palace.

        The Golden Palace. The Golden Palace occupies a fairly special position among the Taoist constructions in Mt.Wudang. in respect to the geological position. It is on the top of the highest peak, having momentum that a palace surrounded by natural conditions on the top are rather adverse, solid construction materials must be applied. The Golden Palace is made up of gilded bronze and all the parts were mortised together. It is 5.54 meters high, 5.8 meters long and 4.2 meters wide. All the components are accurate in proportion and the decorative patterns of the palace are quite elaborate. With precise calculation, the palace wall joned perfectly and let in no air. Even if wind is whistling outside the palace, the flame of candle in it won't move. When it is raining and blowing with lightening accompanied by peal of thunder, blaze flaxhes around the palace. And the Golden Palace becomes more clean and bright after the thunderstorm. 500 years have passed, the Golden Palace still stands erect on the top of the Peak of Heaven Pillar and glistens as it originally did. It is regarded as a piece of precious works combining techniques of both construction and casting.

        The Taoist buildings in Mt.Wudang reflect the long history and the profound cultural tradition of China. The palaces and temples scattered throughout the whole mountain all reached a high level of construction on the overall constitution, plane layout, foundation site selection, architectural space, construction skills and artistic features. Especially, the outside natural look in the construction plays a very important and enlightening role in the ecological houses advocated nowadays.