Wùgǎngshān

Wugongshan rises in the mountains of western Jiangxi, its high ridges crowned by the Golden Summit. Long revered as a Daoist mountain, it also became a home to Buddhist communities. Stone altars near the summit recall the worship that drew pilgrims up its steep slopes.

Daoist temples damaged in the wars at the end of the Yuan were rebuilt in the early Ming. Under the Jiajing Emperor, an envoy and a Daoist master were sent to pray on the mountain for the health of the emperor's mother. Buddhist institutions flourished here as well: in 1553, disciples established a monastery at Jiulongshan, a northwestern branch of the range.