Holy site of Taoism

Taoism, a philosophy and system of religion in ancient China, is developed from the thoughts of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, a philosopher lived in the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC).

It is said that Laozi once went into religious discipline in the mountain and left a pond for making pills for longevity. The site of Laozi's pond can still be found in Wangwu Mountain today. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, Taoism was revered as the State religion. Emperors ordered Taoist temples to be set up all around the country, thus laying a foundation for Taoism to flourish in China.

As the Taoists took nature and simplicity as their principle and immortality their goal, Wangwu Mountain, the cradle of Taoism and home to more than 200 different species of herbal medicine, became the holy site for Taoists for centuries. They collected medicinal plants and tried to make pills of immortality on this sacred mountain.

Legend of Foolish Old Man

The "Yugong"-themed sculpture

The legend of "Foolish Old Man Moving Mountains" became popular among Chinese after Chairman Mao made a historic speech in 1945 with the same title. Mao used "mountains" as a metaphor for imperialism and feudalism which block the Chinese people from founding a bright and brand new country.

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