Temple Complex Palace of Supreme Purity in Shangqing, China
Rating: 7,5/10 (100 votes)  This complex of Taoist temples is located in the Longhushan Mountains in Shangqing. You can get to the temple complex from Yingtan, the distance to which is 20 kilometers. The palace was built by Zhang Daolin, the founder of Taoism, in the II century AD. The complex includes two palaces , twelve pavilions and twenty-four courtyards. The complex was also called the"City of Spirits" or"Capital of the Immortals". Here Zhang Daolin performed the main rituals and ceremonies. After the palace was destroyed one day, it was rebuilt in the Sung architectural style. At the entrance to the palace there is a pavilion with an arch, three floors. On the third floor, which is called the Gateway to the Happy Land, there are altars. There is a road from the arched pavilion to the Dismounting Pavilion, surrounded by a wall on both sides. In the dismounting pavilion you need to get off your horse, leave your weapon and get ready to enter the territory of the monastery. Next is the Hall of Eight Trigrams and Nine Palaces. In it you can see the image of the Eight Trigrams of the Yi Ching, which is distributed over nine palaces, as well as 28 columns that correspond to the twenty-eight lunar sites of the zodiac of China. After this hall, the territory of spirits is read. Behind the Gate of the Magic Star, to which the Street of Dragons leads, there is a courtyard with the symbol of Taiji - the Great Reach laid out on it. The Drum and Bell Towers close the courtyard. In the next courtyard you can see the sacred pond. It was customary to release birds and animals around it. The emperors of China often came here just to to release the animals caught during the hunt. Near the pond is an acacia plant planted by the fourth heavenly master, Zhang Sheng. A little further, there is a pavilion in which the abbots of the temples and the Heavenly Guides used to live. Here they accumulated energy and prepared for rebirth after death. Near the pavilion there is a well with silvered water, which, according to legends, ward off misfortunes. The Pavilion of imprisoned evil spirits is located in the park behind the pavilion. He was mentioned in the prologue of the famous Chinese novel"River Creek", written in the Middle Ages. It tells how in the 9th century a military leader was sent to the Longhushan Mountain by Emperor Ren-zong with a request to the Heavenly Teacher Chang Tien-ni. The emperor asked to rid the country of the epidemic. While Zhang was saving the country The military leader inadvertently released this pavilion 108 evil spirits, which were once pacified by Zhang Daolin. From the pavilion there is a path leading through the grove to the hill on which the gazebo is located, in which Zhang himself once meditated Daolin. Further, the walking trail descends a staircase of 99 steps and leads to the Gate of the Happy Earth.   
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