Temples and Geography
PlacesTemples, sacred mountains, and Daoist geography. This directory lists public entries assigned to this category, organized by knowledge entity and page.
- Representative temples
- Sacred mountains and ancestral seats
- Grotto-heavens and blessed lands
- Regional geography
- Overseas transmission
Temples and Geographyentries
Beijing Baiyun Guan
白雲觀, Baiyun Guan, White Cloud TempleBeijing Baiyun Guan is a major Quanzhen Daoist temple linked to Qiu Chuji and the Yuan-period Changchun Gong. Its Tang predecessor, later temple name, and surviving buildings belong to different historical phases.
Beijing White Cloud Temple
北京白雲觀, Beijing Baiyun Guan, White Cloud TempleBeijing White Cloud Temple is a major Daoist temple associated with the Quanzhen tradition and its Longmen lineage. The site has carried different names and undergone repeated rebuilding; its present buildings should not be treated as unchanged structures from its earliest reported foundation.
Beiyue Temple (Quyang)
北嶽廟, Northern Peak Temple, Beiyue MiaoBeiyue Temple in Quyang, Hebei, is a historic temple dedicated to the deity of the Northern Peak. The Chinese entry dates its foundation to the Northern Wei and associates major surviving architecture and murals with the Yuan period.
Chongyang Palace
重陽宮, Chongyang Wanshou Gong, Zu'anChongyang Palace in the Guanzhong region is an ancestral site associated with Wang Chongyang and early Quanzhen Daoism. Jin-Yuan growth, inscriptions, later rebuilding, and today's remains must be distinguished.
Daoist Temple
道觀, Daoguan, Daoist MonasteryDaoguan is a common Chinese term for a Daoist temple or religious establishment. Guan is pronounced guan with the departing tone in this word; a historical origin story about Yin Xi is not a universal explanation for every temple's foundation.
Dongtian
洞天, Dong Tian, Grotto-HeavensDongtian, often translated as grotto-heavens, are sacred abodes of immortals in Daoist geography. The term evokes a world within a cavern, especially in the interior of a famous mountain, rather than simply a geological cave.
Dongtian Fudi
洞天福地, Dong Tian Fu Di, Grotto-Heavens and Blessed LandsDongtian fudi, or grotto-heavens and blessed grounds, names a set of sacred landscapes in Daoist religious geography. The traditional groupings comprise ten major grotto-heavens, thirty-six lesser ones, and seventy-two blessed grounds. These names connect ideas about immortals' abodes with identifiable mountains and temples.
Dongyue Temples
東嶽廟, Dongyue Miao, Eastern Peak TemplesDongyue miao is a name shared by temples honoring the deity of Mount Tai, the Eastern Peak. These are separate sites, not branches of one building. The Dai Temple in Tai'an, the Dongyue Temple in Xi'an, and the one in Pu County have distinct histories and surviving remains.
Fudi
福地, Fu Di, Blessed LandsFudi refers to blessed grounds or lands associated with immortals in Daoist geography. The tradition speaks of seventy-two such sites. In wider Chinese usage, the same word can mean a happy or peaceful place without referring to a particular sacred site.
Daoist Temples
宮觀, Gongguan, Gong GuanGongguan is a collective term for Daoist religious sites where deities may be honored, clergy may live and study, liturgies may be held, and community affairs may be organized. The names gong and guan have distinct histories; their present-day use does not establish a uniform rank or function for every site.
Mount Heming
鶴鳴山, Heming Shan, Mount HumingMount Heming in Dayi, Sichuan, is closely associated with accounts of Zhang Ling and the beginnings of the Celestial Master movement. Its early role, later temple buildings, and stories of other Daoist figures belong to different historical layers.
Mount Heng (Northern Peak)
恆山, Hengshan, Northern Sacred MountainMount Heng is the Northern Sacred Mountain among the Five Peaks and appears in Daoist lists of grotto-heavens. Its landscape and buildings can be studied separately from stories about immortals associated with the site.
Jiugong Mountain
九宮山, Jiugong ShanJiugong Mountain in Tongshan County, Hubei, combines a mountain landscape with Daoist temple history and regional memory. A story of nine princes building palaces explains its name, while records of Zhang Daoqing's Southern Song temple building offer a different historical layer.
Mount Kongtong
崆峒山, Kongtong Shan, Kongtong MountainMount Kongtong is a Daoist-associated mountain near Pingliang, Gansu. Tradition locates the Yellow Emperor's meeting with Guangchengzi there; the mountain also has a history of temples, later rebuilding, and pilgrimage. In inner alchemy, Kongtong can separately serve as an image for the upper dantian.
Mount Lao
嶗山, Laoshan, Lao MountainMount Lao, or Laoshan, is a mountain area beside the sea at Qingdao in Shandong and an important site in Daoist geography. Historical sources record older names and the growth of temples there, especially from the Song and Yuan periods onward.
Mount Longhu
龍虎山, Longhu Shan, Long Hu ShanMount Longhu in the Guixi area of Jiangxi is an important Daoist sacred mountain associated with the Zhang Heavenly Masters, Zhengyi Dao, and the transmission of registers. Its landscape, institutions, and origin stories are distinct subjects.
Louguantai
樓觀臺, Louguan Terrace, Platform for Expounding the ScriptureLouguantai is a Daoist site near Zhouzhi on the northern foothills of the Zhongnan Mountains in Shaanxi. Tradition links it to Yin Xi and Laozi, while dated records concern later temples, renamings, and the site's place in Daoist history.
Mount Lu
廬山, LushanMount Lu, or Lushan, rises near the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake in Jiangxi. Its cultural history includes Buddhist institutions, Confucian academies, Daoist sites, and landscape writing.
Luyi Taiqing Gong
鹿邑太清宮, Taiqing Palace in Luyi, Luyi Taiqing PalaceLuyi Taiqing Gong is a Daoist temple complex in Luyi, Henan, associated with the commemoration of Laozi. It is a different site from Taiqing Gong at Mount Lao. Claims about Laozi's birthplace and successive building phases require separate assessment of tradition, written records, and surviving inscriptions.
Mount Luofu
羅浮山, Luofu Shan, Luofu MountainMount Luofu is a Daoist mountain landscape in Guangdong associated with Ge Hong, temple communities, and the traditional lists of grotto-heavens and blessed lands. Its religious history consists of layered sites and narratives, not one continuously unchanged institution.
Mount Mao
茅山, Maoshan, Mao ShanMount Mao, formerly Mount Juqu, is a Daoist mountain in southern Jiangsu and an important centre in the formation and spread of Shangqing scriptures. Fourth-century transmissions associated with Yang Xi and Xu Mi, Tao Hongjing's later editing, and Tang–Song networks of masters all shaped its religious standing.
Seventy-Two Blessed Lands
七十二福地, Seventy-Two FudiThe Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, or fudi, are a traditional Daoist list of sacred sites among mountains and other notable places. The group is related to the dongtian system but is not identical to the Thirty-Six Lesser Dongtian.
Mount Qingcheng
青城山, Qingcheng Shan, Qing Cheng ShanMount Qingcheng, near the Chengdu Plain in Sichuan, is a Daoist sacred mountain closely associated with Celestial Master traditions. Its temples, caves, paths, and accounts of Zhang Ling form a religious landscape. Early narratives, inscriptions, and surviving buildings must be dated separately.
Qingyang Palace
青羊宮, Qingyang Gong, Green Goat PalaceQingyang Palace is a Daoist temple complex in Chengdu, Sichuan. Its Laozi traditions, Tang and Qing rebuilding accounts, bronze goats, and surviving architecture represent different layers of the site's history.
Thirty-Six Lesser Dongtian
三十六洞天, Thirty-Six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, Thirty-Six DongtianThe Thirty-Six Lesser Dongtian are a Daoist list of sacred mountain and cave sites associated with immortals. They form a named group alongside, but distinct from, the Ten Great Dongtian.
Shangqing Palace
上清宮, Shangqing GongShangqing Palace is a name borne by several Daoist temples. The Chinese entry chiefly traces the Zhengyi-associated site at Shangqing near Guixi, Jiangxi, but also records distinct namesakes elsewhere; the name alone does not identify one building.
Shenyang Taiqing Gong
瀋陽太清宮, Sanjiao TangShenyang Taiqing Gong is a Quanzhen Daoist temple in Shenyang, Liaoning, formerly called Sanjiao Tang. Its history involves Guo Shouzhen, Qing rebuilding, an open monastic community, and precept transmission; published foundation dates differ.
Ten Great Grotto-Heavens
十大洞天, Shida Dongtian, Ten Major Grotto-HeavensThe Ten Great Grotto-Heavens are a named group of ten sacred mountain sites in Daoist geography. The list is a religious classification, not a modern ranking of scenic destinations.
Taiqing Gong at Mount Lao
太清宮, Laoshan Taiqing Gong, Taiqing Temple at Mount LaoThis Taiqing Gong is the Daoist temple at Mount Lao near Qingdao, Shandong. Stories of a Han foundation, later rebuilding, and Quanzhen connections are preserved in temple history and should be separated from independently dated buildings and inscriptions.
Mount Tai
泰山, TaishanMount Tai in Shandong is the eastern one of China's Five Sacred Mountains. Its history brings together imperial rites, Daoist temples, local worship, inscriptions, and travel.
Celestial Master Cave
天師洞, Tianshi Dong, Ancient Changdao TempleCelestial Master Cave, also known as Ancient Changdao Temple, is a Daoist temple complex on Mount Qingcheng in Sichuan. Its names and buildings belong to different historical periods, while stories linking it directly to Zhang Daoling are part of the site's religious memory.
Celestial Master Residence
天師府, Tianshi Fu, Residence of the Celestial MastersThe Celestial Master Residence, or Tianshi Fu, is the historical residence and religious complex of the Zhang Celestial Masters at Shangqing in Guixi, Jiangxi. It is associated with the Zhengyi tradition and has been rebuilt and enlarged in several dynasties.
Wenchang Temple at Qiqu Mountain
文昌宮, Wenchang Gong, Qiqu Mountain Wenchang TempleWenchang Temple, also called the Great Temple, stands at Qiqu Mountain near Zitong in Sichuan. It is associated with the local Zhang Yazi cult later joined to worship of Lord Wenchang. The surviving buildings largely reflect Ming and Qing rebuilding rather than a single ancient foundation.
Mount Wudang
武當山, Wudangshan, Wudang MountainsMount Wudang, also called Mount Taihe, is a Daoist mountain in present-day Hubei and a major center of the Perfected Warrior tradition. Its sacred landscape joins peaks, paths, temples, and narratives of Xuanwu. Much of its monumental architecture reflects large-scale Ming Yongle-period building.
Mount Wuyi
武夷山, WuyishanMount Wuyi in Fujian is a mountain landscape with a long Daoist institutional history. Daoist catalogues count it among the thirty-six lesser grotto-heavens, while local records describe temples and later rebuilding.
Five Peaks
五嶽, Wuyue, Five Sacred MountainsThe Five Peaks are a directional group of major mountains in Chinese ritual geography: Mount Tai in the east, Mount Heng in Hunan in the south, Mount Hua in the west, Mount Heng in Shanxi in the north, and Mount Song in the center. The two mountains pronounced Heng have different Chinese characters; older lists also vary.
Xishan (Daoist Site in Jiangxi)
西山, Xishan, West MountainXishan is a repeated place name. The mountain area near Nanchang in Jiangxi is important in Jingming Daoist tradition and linked to Xu Xun and Xishan Wanshou Gong; the Beijing West Hills and other Xishan locations are not the same site.
Xuanmiao Temple
玄妙觀, Suzhou Xuanmiao Guan, Xuanmiao GuanSuzhou's Xuanmiao Temple is a Daoist temple on Guanqian Street, noted for its Three Pure Ones Hall. Its names and buildings changed through successive Jin, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing phases.
Yongle Palace
永樂宮, Yongle Gong, Dachunyang Wanshou PalaceYongle Palace is a major Quanzhen Daoist complex in Ruicheng, Shanxi, especially known for its Yuan-period architecture and murals. It was originally associated with Yongle town and with traditions about Lü Dongbin, then relocated to its present site in the twentieth century.
Mount Zhongnan
終南山, Zhongnan Shan, Zhong Nan ShanMount Zhongnan refers to the mountainous region south of Xi'an in Shaanxi, within the Qinling range. Daoist traditions connect it with Laozi and Louguan, communities of religious retreat, and figures important to Quanzhen Daoism.
Zhongyue Temple
中嶽廟, Temple of the Central Peak, Zhongyue MiaoZhongyue Temple is a Daoist temple complex at the eastern foot of Mount Song near Dengfeng, Henan. It centers on the deity of the Central Peak, one of China's Five Peaks, and preserves an extensive sequence of halls, gates, monuments, and old trees.