Wangmu Palace & Grottoes at Huishan
王母宫
Huishan, where the Jing and Rui rivers meet, is regarded as the birthplace of the Queen Mother of the West culture. The Wangmu Palace Grottoes at its foot, dating to the Northern Wei, are a national key cultural heritage site.
Huishan lies west of Jingchuan County town, where the Jing and Rui rivers meet at the foot of the hill. Tradition holds that it was the birthplace of the Queen Mother of the West and the place where King Mu of Zhou met her. On the summit stands Wangmu Palace, the ancestral shrine of the Queen Mother of the West. First built in the Song dynasty, the surviving Taoist temple complex was rebuilt in recent years. From the top you can overlook the confluence of the two rivers and Jingchuan County town. Each year around the twentieth day of the third lunar month, a Queen Mother of the West temple fair is held, drawing Chinese people from around the world to worship. At the foot of the hill, the Wangmu Palace Grottoes were carved in the Northern Wei dynasty. The large central pillar-style cave contains a wealth of carved Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Jataka tales. It is well preserved and is a national key cultural heritage site. Suggested itinerary: see the grottoes at the foot of the hill first, then climb the steps to Wangmu Palace, a visit of about 1.5–2 hours in total. Admission follows the scenic area's prices. Getting there: a taxi from Jingchuan County town takes about 10 minutes, and the site can be combined with Dayun Temple. Another site in Jingchuan County, the Southern Grotto Temple of the Northern Wei (a national key cultural heritage site about 7.5 km east of the county town), is worth a detour for anyone interested in cave art.
Opening hours
About 08:30–17:30
Nearby sights
- Dayun Temple, Jingchuan
- Southern Grotto Temple of Jingchuan
- Yan'en Temple Pagoda
- Liuhu Park
- Pingliang Museum
- Taitong Mountain Forest Park
- Kongtong Ancient Town
- Wendao Palace