Shiyan Travel Guide: The Wudang Mountains, Golden Summit and Danjiangkou
Almost everyone who comes to Shiyan is going to the Wudang Mountains, the Taoist range whose Ming temple complex has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. Plan two nights near the mountain and one full day inside the scenic area: the 2026 combined ticket is ¥164 (entry plus the Taihe Palace at the Golden Summit and the Purple Cloud Palace), shuttle buses are compulsory inside, and the cable car to the summit now costs ¥85 return. Shiyan city, an auto-industry town built around Dongfeng's truck plant, is mainly where the trains and airport are.
Getting in
- Wudangshan West station on the Wuhan–Shiyan high-speed line (opened 2019) is the most convenient railhead: about 12 km and 25–30 minutes from the scenic area gate, on bus 301 or by taxi.
- Shiyan East handles trains on the Xi'an–Shiyan high-speed line, which opened on 30 June 2026; the fastest Xi'an East–Shiyan East trains take about 1 hr 10 min, and Shiyan East to Wudangshan West is another 12–13 minutes.
- Wudangshan station (conventional line) is about 15 km from the gate; bus 202 takes around 40 minutes.
- Shiyan Wudangshan Airport (WDS), opened in 2016, is about 25 km from the gate.
Stay in Wudangshan town near the main gate so you can be in the first shuttle queue. Book the scenic area by real name in the "Wudangshan Smart Tourism" (武当山智慧旅游) WeChat mini-program or on Trip.com.
Places worth visiting
The Golden Summit and the Taihe Palace
The main peak, Tianzhu ("Heavenly Pillar"), is 1,612 m. The Taihe Palace below it dates from 1416, and the Golden Hall on the very top is a bronze hall cast to imitate timber construction, ringed by the stone wall of the "Forbidden City" (1419). It was the Yongle emperor who turned Wudang into an imperial project: from 1412 more than 200,000 soldiers and workers spent twelve years building 33 palaces and temples, finished in 1423, as he claimed the protection of the Taoist god Zhenwu (Xuantian Shangdi).
You can climb from the Nanyan area on the old stone path (allow two to three hours up) or take the cable car from Qiongtai. On three-day and longer public holidays, the Golden Summit needs its own timed booking before you can buy a cable car ticket, and visitor numbers are capped at 12,000 a day. On ordinary days, go up early: cloud often rolls in after midday.
Purple Cloud Palace and Nanyan
The Purple Cloud Palace (Zixiao Gong), under Zhanqi Peak, was first built in 1119–1126 and rebuilt in 1413. It is one of the most complete palaces on the mountain and the seat of the Wudang Taoist Association, so expect working priests and morning rituals. A short shuttle ride away, Nanyan ("South Cliff") faces the Golden Summit; its Yuan-dynasty stone hall, the Tianyi Zhenqing Palace (built 1285–1310), is set into the cliff. If you walk up to the summit, this is where the path starts.
Below these, the Taizi Po (Prince's Slope) complex and the old pilgrim path past Longquan Temple and Tianjin Bridge are quieter. Near the foot of the mountain, the Yuzhen Palace lost its main hall in 2003 to a fire accidentally started by an employee of a martial arts school, and from 2012 the complex was jacked up to stay above the raised reservoir. The large Yuxu Palace complex in Wudangshan town, whose restoration finished in 2012, can fill an hour on arrival day.
Danjiangkou Reservoir
North of the mountain, the Danjiangkou Dam (begun in 1958) holds back the Han and Dan rivers. When it first filled, it drowned about a third of Wudang's ancient buildings, the old city of Junzhou and the Jingle Palace, once "first of Wudang's nine palaces". The dam was raised again between 2005 and 2009 to feed the central route of the South–North Water Transfer Project, and the water surface grew to about 1,000 km². A copy of the Jingle Palace was completed in 2006 on the east side of Danjiangkou city, with the original gate and tortoise stele.
The 2026 government price list gives ¥50 for the dam viewing area and ¥20 for the Jingle Palace. It is a half-day add-on, best after you have done the mountain.
When to come
April to June and September to October are the best months. Summer is hot and stormy (in August 2026 parts of the scenic area closed during the remnants of Typhoon "Baihaitun" and reopened fully on 14 August), and in winter the stone steps can ice over. Mist is common all year; it makes the halls look good and kills the long views.
Eating in Shiyan
Food in Wudangshan town is plain and tourist-priced: noodles, Hubei stir-fries, river fish from the Han. There are snack stalls inside the scenic area near Nanyan and Taizi Po, but carry water and something to eat on a summit day. Shiyan city has more choice if you are staying there before an early train.
How to arrange the route
- Day 1: arrive at Wudangshan West, check in near the gate, book the next day's ticket and an early time slot.
- Day 2: first shuttle up; Purple Cloud Palace in the morning, Nanyan, then the summit by foot or cable car; down by late afternoon.
- Day 3: Taizi Po and the lower temples, or Danjiangkou dam and the Jingle Palace, then a train out.
What to cut if short on time
With one day, skip Danjiangkou and the lower temples and do Purple Cloud Palace, Nanyan and the summit. If fog sits on the peak, ride the cable car only if you are content with the halls; the view may not appear. The city of Shiyan itself can be skipped entirely.
Things to confirm before you go
- Ticket and shuttle prices on the day (2026 list: ¥164 combined, ¥126 entry only; shuttle ¥85 return; cable car ¥85 return or ¥45 one way since 16 July 2026).
- Opening times: the scenic area service page gives entry from 09:00 with last entry around 16:30.
- Golden Summit timed booking on long holidays.
- Weather and any closure notices on the official site.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do I need for the Wudang Mountains?
One full day for the main palaces and the summit, with nights before and after. Add a second day for the lower temples or Danjiangkou.
Should I take the cable car or walk up?
Walk up from Nanyan if you are fit and want the old path, about two to three hours; take the cable car down. In bad weather or on holidays, the cable car saves time but needs a summit booking first.
Can I do Wudang as a day trip from Wuhan?
It is possible on the high-speed line but tiring, because the shuttle system inside takes time. Staying one night is far better.
Sources
The facts in this article were checked against the following sources, retrieved September 19, 2026, and rechecked on October 21, 2026.
- Shiyan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiyan
- Wudang Mountains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wudang_Mountains
- 武当山 (Chinese Wikipedia) https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/武当山
- Danjiangkou Reservoir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danjiangkou_Reservoir
- Shiyan 2026 government-set scenic area prices (Shiyan DRC, August 2026) http://fgw.shiyan.gov.cn/xwzx/tzgg/202608/P020260806388943518147.pdf
- Wudang cable car price cut from 16 July 2026 (Sina) https://www.sina.cn/news/detail/5321615898315352.html
- Golden Summit holiday booking notice (Shiyan government, 30 September 2026) https://www.shiyan.gov.cn/xxgk/xxgk_fdgk/xxgk_zdmsxx/ggwhfw/fwxx/202610/t20261010_5013301.shtml
- Wudang scenic area service and transport page https://zs-szwd.daspatial.com/cms/front/channel/service
- Xi'an–Shiyan high-speed railway opens (People's Daily Shaanxi, 30 June 2026) http://sn.people.com.cn/n2/2026/0630/c186331-41625180.html
Prices above are from the 2026 official list; they can change, so check the mini-program before you go.
All photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under CC licenses; re-use requires attribution.
- shiyan-wudang.jpg from File:Wudangshan pic 12.jpg, by gongfu_king, CC BY-SA 2.0
- shiyan-wudang-temple.jpg from File:Wudangshan 2003 10.jpg, by Taniquetil, Public domain
- shiyan-danjiangkou.jpg from File:Danjiangkou, Shiyan, Hubei, China - panoramio.jpg, by macredants, CC BY-SA 3.0