Sanqing Palace
三清宫
A Ming-dynasty Taoist complex at 1,530 m, with halls, alchemy wells and stone carvings laid out by the Eight Trigrams across a valley. It is the core of the “open-air Taoist museum.”
Sanqing Palace sits in a valley in the north of Sanqing Mountain at an altitude of about 1,530 m, and it is the core of the mountain's Taoist culture. Ge Hong of the Jin dynasty refined elixirs here, and a temple was built during the Tang dynasty. The surviving buildings are mainly a Taoist complex constructed during the Ming dynasty, between the Jingtai and Wanli reigns, under the direction of Wang Hu and others. It includes the main hall of Sanqing Palace, the Dragon and Tiger Hall, the Wind and Thunder Pagoda, the Jiutian Yingyuan Palace, the Yanjiao Hall, the Feixian Terrace, the Elixir Well and numerous stone carvings. All the buildings are made of local granite, and the halls are arranged according to the directions of the Taoist “Former Heaven Eight Trigrams,” scattered across a valley of several square kilometers. It is known as an “open-air Taoist museum” and forms part of the cultural component of the World Heritage site. Sanqing Palace is the junction of the West Coast and Sunshine Coast boardwalks, and the surroundings have the mountain's main summit hotels, campgrounds and shops, making it the supply center of the mountain. It is included in the entry ticket, and a visit takes about 1 hour. From Sanqing Palace you can continue up to Yujing Peak (round trip about 2.5 hours). Note: most halls are cultural relics, so climbing on them and open flames are prohibited. The valley is humid, so bring warm clothing if staying overnight. Nearby rock formations such as Tianmen Peak and Laozi Reading Scriptures are also worth seeing.
Opening hours
07:00–17:00