A Tour of the Goddess Nuwa Palace, Traversing Thousands of Years
I had long harbored the desire to visit the Goddess Nuwa Palace, and a few days ago, I finally made it happen. Recently, I had the fortune to tour the Nuwa Palace.
After nearly six hours of driving along winding roads, we arrived. The Nuwa Palace is nestled in the Taihang Mountain range, located in the mountains less than 15 kilometers southwest of She County, Handan City. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the hills are fairly lush with trees. Upon entering the Nuwa Palace, we saw a grand hall enshrining Maitreya Buddha and the Four Heavenly Kings. Walking forward, there was a large Eight Trigrams platform, engraved with the eight trigrams in their eight positions, flanked by divine beasts like dragons and snakes, and huge bronze tripods. One can imagine how grand the worship ceremonies for the Goddess Nuwa must be. According to the local tourism bureau chief, every year during the cultural festival, provincial and municipal leaders, as well as leaders from surrounding provinces, come to offer incense, and the crowds are enormous.
The four of us bought tickets and climbed the stone-paved steps for nearly half an hour before reaching the statue of Nuwa. In front of the statue were three giant tripods, the middle one being an incense burner, with incense burning continuously. The curling smoke, carrying people's various wishes, rose into the sky. The statue of Nuwa was beautiful and solemn, with four beautiful myths depicted around its base. Regrettably, due to time constraints, we couldn't learn about them in detail.
Further east, up the mountain, was the Nuwa Palace itself. The palace was first built during the Northern Qi dynasty, originally said to be a cave dwelling. Construction started in the Northern Qi and was completed by the Tang dynasty. The main hall was built against the mountain at an altitude of nearly 800 meters. It is said that all the materials for the hall were carried up the mountain by goats. Friends, aren't goats amazing?
Following the winding mountain path, we could reach the main hall. From below, the Nuwa Palace appeared magnificent and imposing, with a four-story main building and bell and drum towers on either side. It truly is a wonderful place for immortals to dwell. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we couldn't ascend to the main hall, so we don't know what it's like inside.
According to a comrade from the tourism bureau, there is a legend about the Nuwa Palace. It is said that when Emperor Li Shimin ascended the throne, he searched all over China for the best feng shui land and believed this place to be the most auspicious. So he planted a sword on the mountain. Nuwa also took a liking to this place. Seeing Li Shimin's sword, she realized she had arrived late and that the blessed land was already claimed by the emperor. So she took off one of her embroidered shoes and placed it under the sword. Later, when Li Shimin came to build a retreat, Nuwa said, "This is my land." Li Shimin pointed to the sword and said, "Look, I marked it earlier. My sword is the proof. If you claim this land, what evidence do you have?" Nuwa calmly replied, "Pull out the sword and see." Li Shimin quickly drew out the sword and saw an embroidered shoe beneath it. Nuwa said, "See, my shoe is still underneath. Isn't this mountain mine?" Li Shimin had no choice but to yield the mountain and look for another place.
