Xingzi Palace Ancient Architectural Complex

Xingzi Palace Ancient Architectural Complex

The Xingzi Palace Ancient Architectural Complex is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The beautiful Xingde Mountain is situated in Mingxing Village, Reishi Town, Taoyuan County, Changde City, Hunan Province, bordering Taoyuan, Shimen, and Cili counties, and at the tripoint of Reishi, Guangfuqiao, and Mengquan towns. It is a shining pearl along Provincial Highway 1801 leading to the Chang-Ci Road. With an elevation of 842.5 meters, it faces Wulei Mountain — a sacred Taoist site in Cili — across the peaks, forming a renowned Taoist mountain that blends natural and cultural landscapes with profound historical richness. Xingzi Palace on Xingde Mountain is an elegantly classic Taoist temple. In the early Ming Dynasty, the eminent Taoist master Zhang Daohui constructed a palace at the mountain’s summit, which was completed in the third year of the Hongwu reign (1370) and further expanded in the late Ming period. The palace features three main halls and six auxiliary shrines; the wings include the Fire Hall, Dormitory Hall, Inquiry Hall, Three Lives Hall, as well as structures like the Star-Gazing Terrace, Moon-Viewing Tower, and Hundred Sons Hall. The entire main structure is built almost entirely from strip stones, topped with cast iron tiles, presenting a majestic and sturdy form with exquisitely carved details.

The tourism resources of Xingde Mountain are characterized mainly by “Four Wonders” — spectacular scenery, unique pines, peculiar rocks, and extraordinary peaks, especially notable for its awe-inspiring vistas. Thus, its function is positioned primarily around appreciating and experiencing the profound Taoist culture. Xingde Mountain remains a timeless sacred Taoist site, known as a “land blessed by the purple aura of Taoism,” facing Wulei Mountain in Cili — hailed as the “Southern Wudang of China” — forming a strategic pair with mountain ranges extending for dozens of kilometers. According to scholars, religious activities here “began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Ming.” In the third year of the Hongwu reign (1370), the insightful Taoist master Zhang Daohui chose this site for his meditative practice, constructing the Sanyuan Palace and renaming Starson Mountain to Xingde Mountain. As incense worship grew, devotees spread across eighteen counties in southwestern Hubei and northwestern Hunan. In the second year of the Tianqi reign (1622), officials from Taoyuan and Cili counties, by imperial decree, built the Lingxiao Travelling Palace, and Sanyuan Palace was renamed Lingxiao Palace. After several expansions by Taoist masters over generations, it evolved into the ancient architectural complex centered on Xingzi Palace. Due to the convenient extraction of local purple sandstone, all ancient structures here are stone-built, featuring exquisitely carved stone walls, steps, doors, tiles, pillars, and beams, perfectly integrated. The surviving structures of Xingzi Palace, Dormitory Hall, Fire Hall, Prince Hall, Hundred Sons Hall, and South Heaven Gate are unified in style, rigorously structured, and spectacular in scale, rare even within Hunan and China. They hold immense artistic and historical value, serving as living fossils for studying ancient architectural art and the development of Taoism.

Xingde Mountain houses numerous ancient tombs. Master Zhang Daohui, after his passing, was laid to rest here and is revered by successive abbots as the founding patriarch. Generations of Taoist masters, with varying lifespans, ultimately rest in this blessed land. Stone stelae stand amid lush greenery, bones lie beneath fertile soil, accompanied by vast mountains and towering cliffs, bathed in celestial energy and nourished by sun and moon. One wonders, is it the mountain that is honored, or the ancestors who are blessed?

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Taoism flourished unprecedentedly in the Yuanli River basin. In Taoyuan at that time, to the south was Taohuayuan’s Taochuan Palace, and to the north was Xingzi Palace on Xingde Mountain — both were preeminent Taoist temples. On traditional auspicious days such as the third day of the third lunar month and the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, pilgrims flocked to both sites in great numbers, marking a heyday of Taoist activity.

During the Republican era, frequent warfare and economic decline led to the gradual waning of Taoism, and Xingde Mountain lost its former glory. In 1943, during the Battle of Changde, the Japanese 13th Division of the 11th Army invaded Taoyuan from Cili. The 43rd Regiment of the National Revolutionary Army’s 73rd Division stationed at Xingde Mountain and built fortifications at a strategic location. Thousands of civilians sought refuge here to escape massacre. In the early years after liberation, Xingde Mountain’s temples stood quiet and dim, though not yet abandoned. During the Cultural Revolution, the fervent campaign to “smash the Four Olds” swept the nation, and the Xingzi Palace Ancient Architectural Complex suffered severe damage — many exquisite stelae, statues, and sculptures were destroyed, leaving behind only ruins and near desolation. While cultural landmarks were devastated, the natural environment also suffered: ancient trees were felled, soil eroded, and hillsides terraced during the “Learn from Dazhai in Agriculture” movement for planting economic forests. It wasn’t until the early 1980s, with the full revival of religious activities, that incense worship gradually resumed. From the 1990s, driven by the rapid growth of tourism in Taohuayuan and Zhangjiajie, the development potential of Xingde Mountain Scenic Area emerged. Private investments led to the restoration of stone pathways and partial repairs of historic sites. In 2002, Xingzi Palace was listed as a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Hunan.

“The spiritual essence of Xing Peak forms a celestial realm; the mountain range extending to Wulei forever guards these ancient lands.” This couplet vividly captures the grandeur and charm of Xingzi Palace. The refined scholar who composed it must have been inspired by the mountain’s splendor, pouring his soul into these lines. Elders recall that the old Xingzi Palace was magnificent in scale, its layout following the mountain’s contour — neither too dense nor too sparse, with varied elevations. It had three main halls, six auxiliary shrines, and ancillary structures such as the Prince Hall, Hundred Sons Hall, Fire Hall, Dormitory Hall, Three Lives Hall, South Heaven Gate, Star-Gazing Terrace, Moon-Viewing Tower, and Jade Pavilion, arranged in a pattern as if stars encircling the moon.

The old mountain gate of Xingzi Palace stands three meters tall, weathered by wind and rain, bearing witness to the vicissitudes of history, and still standing proudly today. Its front pillars bear the couplet: “Stone walls glow with starlight; gaze upward, and you’re but a foot from the blue sky; Buddhist halls shine with moonlight; step inside, and worldly concerns vanish.” The calligraphy is in running regular script, bold and unrestrained, smooth and rich. On either side of the gate are embedded stelae titled “The Origin of Xingde Mountain,” with the upper inscriptions still relatively clear though the lower parts are faded. The lintel above the gate is carved with four plump characters: “毫无四相” (No Four Appearances), encapsulating boundless Taoist mystique, each adorned with simple floral borders. Along the stone steps leading to the gate stand pairs of small stone lions and elephants. Though slightly damaged, their unique designs exude primitive charm and vitality.

The various stone carvings within the Xingzi Palace Ancient Architectural Complex are of exceptional craftsmanship, exhibiting outstanding artistic quality. A stone component excavated from the ruins of Lingxiao Palace features a bas-relief scene titled “Magpies Celebrating Spring.” Left-side peach tree branches and right-side peony blooms layer and complement each other. Three magpies on the peach tree — flying, hopping, or perching — vary in distance, height, and expression, yet all focus on a single peony bud. The strong three-dimensional effect and lifelike expressions are so vivid they seem ready to emerge from the stone.

Ancient builders of temples and Taoist palaces paid special attention to feng shui, emphasizing principles like “gathering energy” and “facing yang while backed by yin,” embodying humanity’s ancient wisdom. The Prince Hall, located thirty meters below Xingzi Palace, follows the same philosophy. Having survived centuries of natural disasters and upheavals, it offers precious insight into those age-old insights. The hall faces west and east, stands eight meters tall, and covers 27 square meters, designed in a memorial archway style. Aside from a reinforced dome, all parts retain their classic vintage appearance. Construction began with rectangular strip stones laid as a foundation amidst cliffs and crags. Its railings, steps, beams, columns, double eaves, and upturned corners are all formed from uniquely sized, square-hewn stones. The upper part of the archway features stacked brackets with distinct Western Hunan-style designs, and the plaque is inlaid with four stone tablets carved with “two dragons playing with a pearl” and various theatrical figures.

The Prince Hall enshrines the statue of the Thunder Sound Universal Lord, flanked by statues of the Thunder God and Lightning Mother, all solemn and imposing. Over the years, erosion has left the walls mottled with moss, blending human craft with nature — from a distance, the massive structure merges seamlessly with the ruddy cliffs. Most astonishing are two ancient pines inside and outside the railing, their roots entwined, branches tangled, as if flying or embracing, as if holding hands or sharing a fate — a bond as deep as the ocean, standing together for a thousand years, envied by countless passersby. No wonder someone inscribed the word “Wonder” into the cliff, voicing heartfelt admiration.

Successive generations of Taoists on Xingde Mountain subtly integrated reverence for life and nature into their architectural designs. These silent structures embody their boundless wisdom, like silent hymns flowing quietly across these once-quiet mountain ridges...

Xingde Mountain boasts not only abundant cultural attractions but also breathtaking natural scenery, a masterpiece of nature’s craftsmanship. Within a two-square-kilometer radius centered on Xingzi Palace, there are 48 scenic spots including Elephant Mountain, Cloud Gathering Cliff, Life Sacrificing Cliff, Lion Rock, Cave-Piercing Mountain, Jade Belt Bay, Safety Slope, Flag-Planting Mountain, Horse Head Fort, Boot Rock, Golden Rooster Ridge, Millstone Rock, Lovers’ Stone, Pangu’s Axe, Guanyin Niche, and Turtle Immortal Spring. The density of natural attractions here is unmatched in Taoyuan and even Changde. A local folk song goes: “Xianyuan has many wonders, but Xingde Mountain is the fairest; stones like mills and boots dot the hills, trees exhale mist below Life Sacrificing Cliff. Seek the Way at Xingde Mountain, and you’ll find bliss beyond immortality — with strange rocks, beautiful pines, and brilliant azaleas, and couplets left in Xingzi Palace. The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two to Three, and Three to all things. Humans follow Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows Nature.”

Reishi Town: Hao Ping Township and Reishi Town were merged to form Reishi Town.

Reishi Town is located in the northern part of Taoyuan County, 60 km from the county seat and 56 km from Changde City. It borders Lingxi and Guangfuqiao towns of Cili County to the north, Shuangxi and Jiuxi towns of the same county to the south, Hao Ping Township to the west, and Mengquan Town of Shimen County to the east. The town covers a total area of 127.43 square kilometers, with the highest elevation at 842.5 meters and the lowest at 63.86 meters. The terrain slopes from northwest to southeast, transitioning from rolling hills to flat plains.

The town enjoys superior transportation and geographical advantages, with road access... Detailed information about Reishi Town++

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units