‘The First Celestial Mountain in the World’

Over more than 200 years from the Yongle Period to the 15th year of the Chongzhen Period of the Ming Dynasty, the Wudang Mountains served as the 'imperial temple' of China, as well as the premier Taoist landscape, honoured as 'The First Celestial Mountain in the World'. The Wudang Mountains are closely related to the development of Taoism in China. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, all the major temples and palaces have been nationalised and conserved through a series of protection and management measures. The Wudang Mountains Scenic and Historic Interest Area is a cultural landscape characterised by highly distinctive cultural, natural, religious, and living attributes that are expressed within a single large landscape. As a magnificent Taoist 'holy land', the Wudang Mountains landscape is an outstanding example of the profound interactions between humans and the natural environment – culture and nature.