Wudang Mountain Travel Guide
Apart from the starting point at the Visitor Center, Wudang Mountain has three shuttle bus transfer stations: Taizi Slope, Qiongtai Zhongguan, and Nanyan. At the Visitor Center, there are shuttle buses heading to these three transfer stations. So which direction should you take? It depends on your route choice. Generally speaking, the first stop can be Taizi Slope. The Fuzhen Temple here is a must-visit attraction. Of course, you can also make Taizi Slope your last stop, because when you descend the mountain, you will return here to transfer back to the Visitor Center.
2. Qiongtai Zhongguan
At Qiongtai Zhongguan, there is a cable car that goes directly to the summit. You can buy a round-trip ticket or a single-trip ticket for either ascending or descending. If you are in a hurry or have elderly companions who cannot climb, then buy a round-trip cable car ticket. I personally do not recommend a round-trip ticket, as taking the cable car the whole way is not very interesting and you will miss many scenic spots along the way. I suggest buying a one-way ticket for ascending, because descending is much easier and allows you to deeply explore the scenic wonders of Wudang.
Reminder: If you do not take the cable car and climb all the way to the Golden Summit, it is definitely a physical challenge. You should know that looking at the Wudang Mountain guide map, the hiking trail is just a line, with a distance of only five or six kilometers, but in reality, it is no easy walk. The steps on Wudang Mountain are long sections one after another, with steep slopes, and uphill and downhill sections are interspersed. This means you will do a lot of useless work—climbing a long stretch and then having to go down again; it can be quite frustrating.
The Visitor Center has shuttle buses to Nanyan, but Nanyan here is a general term for the Nanyan Scenic Area. You won't see Nanyan Palace immediately after getting off the bus. In fact, the Nanyan parking lot is at Crow Ridge, and you need to walk a bit to reach Nanyan Palace. Nanyan Palace is also a must-visit attraction on Wudang Mountain.
If you really don't want to climb but still want to visit all the famous attractions of Wudang Mountain, you can arrange it like this:
Buy a round-trip cable car ticket at Qiongtai Zhongguan, visit the Golden Summit, take the cable car down, then take a bus from Qiongtai Zhongguan to Taizi Slope, transfer to a bus heading to Nanyan, visit the Nanyan Scenic Area, and then take a bus down the mountain. This plan still involves some walking, but much less.
4. Recommended Route
In summary, if you have a full day to explore, I recommend the following route:
First, take a bus to Taizi Slope. After visiting, take a bus to Qiongtai Zhongguan and buy a one-way cable car ticket for ascending. After visiting the Golden Summit, walk down the mountain all the way to the Nanyan Scenic Area. After visiting, take a bus down the mountain, passing by Zixiao Palace and Xiaoyao Valley. You can choose to get off and visit based on your situation. After getting off at Taizi Slope, transfer to the bus heading to the Visitor Center to exit the scenic area.
Combined with the scenic area guide map below, I wonder if I have made it clear?
5. A Few Reminders:
When descending from the Golden Summit, there are two routes to Chaotian Palace: the Ming Divine Path and the Qing Divine Path, built during the Ming and Qing dynasties respectively. Relatively speaking, the Qing Divine Path is easier; although a bit longer, it is gentler. The Ming Divine Path is more difficult; although shorter, it has steep slopes with alternating uphill and downhill sections. When descending, before Langmei Temple, there is a three-way intersection. Which direction should you take? I recommend going straight, first to Crow Ridge Parking Lot, then turn left to climb up, passing through Nantianmen to reach Nanyan Palace. This route is relatively shorter. After passing through Nanyan Palace, go to the back of the hall, turn right and walk 300 meters to reach Feisheng Cliff, which is claimed to be the most beautiful view on Wudang Mountain, but I think it is a total letdown. If you want to save energy, I suggest not going there. Behind Nanyan Palace, turning left leads to the Dragon Head Incense attraction, which is very close. This is a must-visit spot on Wudang Mountain—be sure to see it. After visiting Nanyan Palace, return the same way to Crow Ridge Parking Lot and take a bus down the mountain.
My Wudang Mountain Travel Diary
October 19, 2019. Yesterday we drove the Danjiangkou Ring Reservoir Highway. Today we planned to visit Wudang Mountain. We set out at 6:30 a.m., had breakfast, and entered the scenic area a little after 7 a.m. I originally thought the scenic area opened at 8 a.m., but it actually opened at 7 a.m., so we arrived just in time.
After buying tickets, we walked to the shuttle bus station, which was the starting point. There were three routes: to Taizi Slope, Qiongtai Zhongguan, and Nanyan. If we hadn't done any research beforehand, we would have been a bit confused.
We chose to take the bus to Taizi Slope first, climbed some steps, and arrived at Fuzhen Temple. It is said to be the place where a prince cultivated. That's the origin of the name Taizi Slope. The prince attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven, becoming the Zhenwu Emperor, a deity guarding the north. Originating from Zhu Di, the Zhenwu Emperor was always the most revered deity of the Ming court.
Taizi Slope is a landmark attraction of Wudang Mountain, with red walls and green tiles, exuding ancient elegance. The Nine-Bend Yellow River Wall is quite interesting, and the Two-Pillar, Twelve-Beam structure of Wuyun Tower left a deep impression on me.
After leaving Taizi Slope, we took a shuttle bus to Qiongtai Zhongguan. After getting off, we first visited Qiongtai Zhongguan. Inside, a group of elementary school students were practicing martial arts, the youngest around four or five years old. We stopped to watch. Then, we took the cable car up the mountain. The ticket cost 90 yuan. The cable car had a very steep slope, and as I sat inside, my heart kept clenching involuntarily.
Arriving on the mountain, the scenery was magnificent. The most impressive was the sea of clouds—clouds were all around, dense and rolling, making us feel like we were in a celestial palace. The exposed small peaks looked like little islands, adding a touch of charm to the sea of clouds.
We started climbing to the Golden Hall. Another ticket was needed to reach the summit. Before ascending, we first entered the Fortune-Turning Hall on the left side, which is said to bring good luck. The hiking path was cramped and narrow, and with so many tourists densely packed on the steps, we slowly moved upward.
Finally, we reached the Golden Hall. On the small peak, a sea of people gathered, and the surrounding sea of clouds looked even more spectacular. We lingered at the summit for a long time, then reluctantly began descending. At that time, we didn't know which was the Qing Path and which was the Ming Path. We stumbled onto the Ming Path. Halfway down, we realized we had chosen the more difficult route, but we didn't want to turn back, so we continued. This path has a longer history and more small scenic spots, such as the First, Second, and Third Heavenly Gates and the Meeting Immortals Bridge.
Even though we were descending, it was still quite tiring. Seeing the panting tourists climbing up, we couldn't help but feel sympathy. There were also people being carried up in sedan chairs. How hard must those sedan chair bearers be working? I saw one sedan chair bearer in his fifties with gray hair carrying a man in his forties up the mountain. How could that passenger bear it? But most bearers were just waiting around idly and soliciting customers. I thought doing this manual labor might be worse than just getting a regular job.
Arriving at Chaotian Palace, which meets the Qing Divine Path, we continued down, passed Langmei Temple, and reached Crow Ridge, where there was a parking lot. Then, we turned left and walked a few hundred meters to Nanyan Palace.
Nanyan Palace is grand in scale. After passing through the main hall, we found a hidden world. Following the sign, we descended to Feisheng Cliff, 300 meters away, said to be the most beautiful view on Wudang Mountain. When we got there, we were greatly disappointed—the scenery was nothing special. From there, we could get a distant view of Nanyan Palace.
Then, we returned the same way to the back of Nanyan Palace and went to the Dragon Head Incense spot. This is also a landmark attraction of Wudang Mountain. It is said that in ancient times, countless people fell off the cliff while trying to burn incense at the dragon head. Later, the court banned burning incense there.
After the visit, we returned via the same path from Nanyan Palace to the Crow Ridge parking lot. Buses only drop off here, not pick up, so we walked a few hundred meters down to the Nanyan waiting area. Around 4 p.m., we took a bus down the mountain, passing Zixiao Palace and Xiaoyao Valley. Since we had to rush home today, we didn't go in to visit. After getting off at Taizi Slope, we transferred to a bus back to the Visitor Center.
