Wangmu Pool

Wangmu Pool

Situated at the eastern end of Huanshan Road in Tai’an city, south of Hushan Reservoir, it was anciently known as “Yao Pool.” The Three Kingdoms Wei poet Cao Zhi wrote, “Traveling east past the Queen Mother’s cottage, I look down upon the Five Sacred Mountains,” while the Tang poet Li Bai penned, “Morning drink at Wangmu Pool, evening arrival at the Heavenly Gate Pass,” both testifying to the long history of the temple. Wangmu Pool is divided into a front and a rear courtyard. The front courtyard has the Wangmu Spring, with water that is fresh and sweet; the rear courtyard contains the Seven True Ones Hall, where the clay sculptures display varied expressions and are strikingly lifelike. To the east is the Waterfall Viewing Pavilion, and to the west is the Laojun Hall, which houses the Tang Dynasty “Mandarin Duck Stele.”

Mount Tai boasts a long history, and so does the city of Tai’an. Over the course of its lengthy historical development, the ancient city of Tai’an gradually grew due to imperial worship pilgrimages, public religious activities, and visits by literati and poets, eventually forming a unique layout where “the mountain does not press down on the city, the city does not occupy the mountain, yet the two are integrated as one.”

After centuries of construction, today the mountain representing “heaven” and the city representing the human world are ingeniously combined into a seamless whole. The city looks up to the mountain’s grandeur, while the mountain shines with the city’s radiance. Natural and cultural landscapes complement each other, ancient relics and contemporary works enhance one another, creating a magnificent and profoundly meaningful ensemble of scenic spots. The connecting area between the mountain and the city—from Wangmu Pool in Zhongxi to Dazhong Bridge in Xixi, linked by a circular mountain road—is referred to as the “Beautiful Area” of Mount Tai. At the eastern end of Huanshan Road lies Wangmu Pool. It is a set of ancient buildings nestled against the mountain and by the water, with structures arranged at varying heights and in a compact, exquisite layout. The “Records of Mount Tai” states: “Wangmu Pool was originally named ‘Yao Pool,’ commonly called Wangmu Pool. Above the pool is Qunyu Nunnery, dedicated to the Queen Mother; below is Qiuzai Bay, and in front is Feiluan Spring.” The “History of Dai” also says: “The Yellow Emperor built a shrine on Mount Tai and dispatched seven women, dressed in cloud-crowned, feathered robes, to maintain incense offerings and welcome the Queen Mother of the West, hence the name.” The story of the Yellow Emperor is ancient and hard to verify, but Cao Zhi’s poem from the Three Kingdoms period mentioning “traveling east past the Queen Mother’s cottage” is sufficient proof of the pool’s long-standing origins.

Wangmu Pool is built on the western bank of Zhongxi, beside which there once stood the Queen Mother’s Grooming Tower. From this point onward, the waters of Zhongxi were renamed “Grooming River.” There used to be a Wangmu Bridge over the river, but it has long been dismantled. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, a stone bridge was built over the river and named “Eight Immortals Bridge.” Northeast of the bridge, beneath a cliff wall, there is a stone cave called “Lüzu Cave,” which legend says was where Lü Dongbin practiced alchemy. Inside the cave is an embedded stele said to bear a poem by Lü Dongbin, but the wording is crude and not worth viewing—presumably the work of some idle literati. To the north of Lüzu Cave is the dam of Hushan Reservoir. Like the dam of Longtan Reservoir, this one is also of the overflow type, but with the addition of a nearly 100-meter-long Lanwan Bridge built atop it. During the rainy season, the six piers divide the water into seven streams, forming seven waterfalls. Only those who have seen it know that man-made scenery, when done just right, can be truly captivating. Hushan Reservoir and Longtan Reservoir in Xixi, one to the east and one to the west, one tiger and one dragon, guard the two valleys at the foot of the mountain, pooling two stretches of emerald water—like two glittering green jade stones inlaid at the base of Mount Tai.

The Wangmu Pool architectural complex has a long history and has undergone renovations through the dynasties, reaching an almost perfect state, thus earning admiration through the ages. For over a hundred years, many temples in the vicinity of Wangmu Pool, such as the Medicine King Hall, Laojun Hall, and Houtu Hall, have all disappeared, but Wangmu Pool alone has been perfectly preserved.

Wangmu Pool is a three-courtyard temple, rectangular in layout, stretching 73.6 meters from north to south and 53 meters from east to west, covering an area of 3,900 square meters. It consists of the main gate, Wangmu Pool, Wangmu Hall, east and west side halls, east and west wing rooms, YueXian Pavilion, Seven True Ones Hall, and Penglai Pavilion.

The architecture of Wangmu Pool and Doumu Palace belongs to the same type. Both are built against the mountain and by the water, with structures specifically designed for water viewing, harmonizing beautifully with their surroundings and offering a particularly pleasant atmosphere. As a result, from Cao Zhi and Li Bai to Yuan Haowen, poets throughout history have mentioned it in their verses. Wangmu Pool is indeed an excellent destination.