Wudang's Xuan Wu statue tours Taiwan

The 600-year-old Xuan Wu statue of the Wudang Mountains in Hubei province started its tour around Taiwan on Oct 16. It came to Zhenqing Temple of Guima Mountain in Taipei's Xinbei city on Oct 20, gathering 6,000 Xuan Wu followers from Taiwan.

Li Faping (left), vice-mayor of Shiyan city, and Xiao Hong (right), deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, jointly plant conifers in Taipei's Guima Mountain on Oct 20, 2014, to express their wish for a long-lasting friendship between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. [Photo taken by Han Jibing/wudangshan.gov.cn]

Officials from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, including Xiao Hong, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council; Li Faping, vice-mayor of Shiyan city; Li Guangfu, president of the Wudang Taoist Association; and Yang Xibin, head of Zhenqing Temple, jointly planted conifers and sakols to express their wish for a long-lasting friendship between the two sides. Afterwards, they unveiled a stone monument to greet Xuan Wu's tour in Zhenqing Temple.

Officials from the Wudang Mountains in Hubei province and Taiwan unveil a stone monument to greet Xuan Wu's tour in Zhenqing Temple on Oct 20, 2014. [Photo taken by Han Jibing/wudangshan.gov.cn]

The parade of Xuan Wu statue, stretching 2 km long, attracted many Taiwan people with brilliant wushu (martial arts) performances and dances. Many of them waited in the streets to worship Xuan Wu.

The photo taken on Oct 20, 2014, shows the parade moving towards Zhenqing Temple of Guima Mountain in Taipei's Xinbei city. [Photo taken by Han Jibing/wudangshan.gov.cn]

Zhenqing Temple of Guima Mountain, facing the Wudang Mountains across the Straits, is a Taoist holy land in Taiwan that worships Xuan Wu.

Contributed by Wang Liang and Jiang Yuanbo from Wudang Mountains Tourism Bureau